Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Cosmic Revolution
by Hariel Lhikan
Summary: Full summary is inside the story. Rated for suggestive materials in some chapters and swearing. OC centric.
1. Beginnings

Disclaimer's Note- Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and After War Gundam X are owned by Sunrise Inc. and whoever made them. As I do not own either, I don't own any of it.

Summary- A slight Gundam Seed and Gundam X crossover that follows along with the storyline of Gundam Seed with several small changes. During a surprise attack on his hometown, fifteen-year old Ryo is hit by a car and wakes up in the world of the Cosmic Era. There, he is given the opportunity to change the history of Gundam Seed forever in anyway, for better or for worse. As his adventures show him just how little he knows about the bitter conditions of war, however, he slowly learns that great power really does come with great responsibility.

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Phase 00- Beginnings

_December 7, A.D. 2006, Okinawa, Japan_

"I dunno, they both look the same to me."

"Look, just hurry up and make up your mind, will ya? I don't have all day."

"Okay, okay! I'll take the one on the right," I finally said and my friend flipped the card over to reveal a Jack of Clubs.

"Whoops, looks like you guessed wrong, Ryo," he said, grinning "Now give me my five bucks."

"Nothing doing, we didn't shake on it," I replied and got up from the table, grabbing my jacket from my chair, "I'm out of here."

"Dammit, Ryo, you always use that same dumb excuse over and over again!" my friend groaned, rolling his eyes, "You just can't stand the fact that you lost another bet!" I ignored him but he was right, I had to have the crappiest luck in the world when it came to bets. Every time I tried to get some money, I always ended up losing it instead; and my luck was the same whenever I tried something that involved chance; like the time when I tried to sneak back into my house after being gone for almost the whole night. I had forgotten about the alarm and…well, you can guess what happened next. Like my friend had said, my name is Ryo Mouri, a name that's as strange as the way I look. My jet black hair matches my eyes and at 15, I'm already approaching 5' 8.5". Anyway, I had just gotten out of the building and was heading across the street when I suddenly felt a tingling sensation in my head, like something was trying to warn me of approaching danger. Stopping, I looked around, searching for whatever had caused the sense of foreboding in my mind and just when I was about to give up and keep walking, I suddenly caught sight of someone tossing something off of a rooftop. Squinting harder, my eyes went wide when I realized what it was.

"Is that…it's a grenade!" I shouted and everyone around me looked at me like I was crazy for a split second before the thing exploded a few yards away. "I told you so!" I sighed as everyone started panicking and running around screaming, "But you just had to go and not listen to me, didn't you?!" Just then I saw another explosive get tossed into the crowd and I shouted again, "Look out! There's another…" I never got a chance to finish because it exploded before I could and by now, everyone was freaking out. It was then that I caught sight of the attacker and that he was aiming something and when I looked closer; I realized that he was pointing the nozzle of a grenade launcher right at the building next to me. "Great…" I thought, "There are rocket men too?" Before I could warn everyone else, however, the guy fired and the round exploded on the wall of the building, causing rubble to come crashing down as the pedestrians continued to run. That was when things went completely nuts. As I was crossing the street to avoid getting crushed by the rubble, I turned my head and saw a car headed straight for me. Maybe it was because of the chaos that was happening all around me, maybe it was because I was so surprised to see the car, or maybe I was just real stupid but whatever the reason was, I didn't move, hell, I _couldn't_ move. And so there I was, just standing there like a complete moron and then the thing hit me. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was more screaming, the sensation of being sandwiched between a pair of whales, and then the sound of another explosion but then again, it could have just been my organs getting demolished from the force of the car.

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"_How bad is it?"_

"_It's nothing serious, just a broken rib or two, that's all."_

"_Incredible, no ordinary human could have survived that."_

"_Well, that's because he's not an ordinary human."_

"_Oh, right, I sometimes forget that Coordinators are a bit more durable than those Naturals."_

"_Shh, look! He's waking up!"_ Wait a minute; I just got hit by a car, didn't I? So how come I'm hearing people talking about Coordinators and Naturals? And why are they talking about them anyway, doesn't that stuff only exist in Gundam Seed? But that last statement was true, I did feel my strength returning to me little by little until I could finally open my eyes up and for a moment, I thought that I was seeing things, because the white room that I was in definitely didn't look familiar and neither did the people that were around me. One of them, a woman with black hair like my own and blue eyes, leaned down until her face was almost touching mine and said sweetly, "Hey, you feeling okay?" I quickly recognized her as the person who had said that I was waking up.

"Um, yeah, I guess," I groaned, "But…who are you?"

"It's just as I feared," another person sighed, probably a doctor, "The impact must have caused a major concussion and severe damage to his memory; he can't remember anything that happened before the accident."

"Hey, now hold on just a second," I replied, feeling a bit irritated as I sat up, "Look, I may not know who all of you people are or where I am, but I do know that I don't have amnesia. I remember that I was hit by a car before I blacked out, my favorite color is red, and that my birthday is on the first of March!" When I said that, they looked at each other with worried looks on their faces and it was then that I knew something wasn't right. Where the hell was I, anyway? "Okay, can someone please tell me what's going on here?" I asked them, "Who are you? Where am I exactly? And why were you talking about Coordinators and Naturals? That stuff only exists in Gundam Seed."

"Wait," the last one of them said, probably the woman's husband, "You know about the G?"

"Gundam? It's one of the most successful anime shows where I come from, didn't you know that?" I replied, cocking an eyebrow and then added, "Wait, hold on a second, did you just say something about a G? As in a Gundam?"

"Shh!" he said and then looked around to see if anyone was around listening, "Listen, I can't explain it here but I'll show you what I mean when we get home."

"Get home?" I asked, getting more and more impatient, "What are you talking about? Who are you? And for the last time, where am I?!"

"We're your parents, son," the woman answered, "You're in the hospital. It's January twenty-third, Cosmic Era 70. We're on the space colony Junius Seven."

"J-Junius Seven?!" I stammered, "You mean the colony that was destroyed during the Bloody Valentine tragedy?" They looked at each other again and then shrugged.

"It's worse than I thought," the doctor murmured, "His mind must have been scrambled as well."

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It took a while, but Ryo finally managed to get used to his new way of life. His "father", Oliver Mouri, was apparently a successful and well known politician, supposedly the Representative of Junius City. He was amazed at the size of the building the family lived in, as he hadn't even seen pictures of places this big. His "mother" was more into medicine than politics but she still made a lot, so it would appear that he would have it easy. The only problem was that it was rather difficult to adjust to his new lifestyle. Ryo figured this out one day when he went out for a walk and discovered that he was being followed by several men in black suits. At first, he had done what he could to ignore them but after about fifteen minutes, Ryo finally rushed home only to find out that they were just body guards assigned to protect him. Despite several attempts to persuade his "parents" that he could manage without them, nothing could be done to relieve him of them and eventually, Ryo chose to give up and get used to their presence. Of course, it was still a bother to have them around a lot, since he couldn't go anywhere without seeing them hiding behind newspapers or standing just a little bit away from him near a stationary object.

Another problem that Ryo faced was that there was so little that he could do, as he didn't recognize anybody due to his "amnesia", which Ryo still refused to believe he had. Because of this, he barely had anyone to talk to and although he joined a few online forums, it wasn't the same as talking to a real person face-to-face. He had once discovered a picture of another boy with green hair and eyes that were colored what looked like chestnut and had asked who he was. All his mother had done was sigh and tell him that the boy was an old friend of his and that if it was possible, they would go to visit them one day, as they lived on a different colony. And so Ryo was left with another thing to think about as the days of January slowly slipped by, spending most of them in quiet solitude. That, however, was about to change; starting with a chance meeting that would forever change his life.

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It had been weeks after I woke up in the hospital and I had gone out to take a little stroll around the park, just to ease my mind from its present ponderings. It was a rather nice day and I was just starting to enjoy myself, despite the fact that I knew that the guys that those bodyguards of mine were following my every step, when something in an alleyway caught my attention. Stopping to get a good look, I saw that it was in fact a girl sitting on the ground and judging by the way that she dressed, I figured that she was one of the many street urchin that lived in these parts of the city and it took me a few seconds to guess that she was about a year or so younger than I was. Whenever someone walked by, she would hold out an empty soup-can (I think it was tomato) for them to put some change in, except she wasn't having much luck, as most of the people just ignored her or pushed her away. Normally, I didn't really pay attention to the homeless but the sight of this girl had me fixed to my spot and I eventually found myself growing frustrated with each person who passed her without as much as a glance.

Trouble started, though, a gang of boys older than I was showed up and then shoved her to the ground forcefully when she went up to them. I expected them to walk on but to my surprise and disgust, they formed a circle and began kicking her while she struggled to get away.

"Oh, come on," I frowned, "That's just not right…" Glancing over my shoulder, I waved over a bodyguard, who quickly and discreetly walked over to me.

"Is there something that you need, sir?" he asked when he was close enough.

"You carry a tazer, right?" I asked, pointing at his suit.

"Um, yes, sir," he nodded, looking a bit confused behind his shades, "But why…?" Before he could finish, I held up my hand, palm up in front of him.

"Give it here," I whispered and after giving me an odd look, he reached into his suit and pulled out the stun-device before handing it to me. "Great," I nodded and held it up, "Now…you just point and click, right?"

"Yes, sir, but I really don't see…" he blinked before I aimed the device and activated it for a second. Moments later, one of the attackers was on the ground and rolling around, grabbing his family jewels while he screamed in pain as a grin cracked across my face.

"What the hell?" one of them exclaimed, "What just happened?" I took that moment to duck behind a trash bin and then nail the bastard in the ass while his back was turned. By now, the gang was getting a bit nervous and started to move away. Of course, I couldn't resist giving the last guy one last good zap before they ran off. Chuckling, I got out from behind the trash bin and made sure the gang was out of sight before I handed the tazer back to the guard and dismissed them.

"Oh, and Simmons," I said as they left.

"Sir?"

"If you tell a single soul about this," I warned and pointed to gang member who was hobbling away, "You're gonna end up like that guy."

"My lips are sealed, sir," he nodded and walked off. When they had gone, I looked back at the girl, who was lying on the ground curled up in a ball, crying.

"Hey, you okay there?" I asked and walked over to her, "Those guys didn't hurt you too badly, did they?" I obviously got her attention because she looked up and by golly, I had never seen a deeper shade of blue than the one in her teary eyes. "Do you need some help?" I offered, crouching next to her, "I'm sure I could get you to somewhere safe."

"N-no," she stammered, "I'm okay." She wiped her face with a dirty sleeve and I took a closer look at her as she dusted herself off. Her hair looked like a pair of wings that hung down from the sides of her face and the rest of it had been tied back into a long ponytail that hung down to her waist while her bangs hung down to her eyebrows. To my surprise, I found myself thinking that she would have been rather pretty if she wasn't in such a poor state.

"So…what's your name?" I asked, trying to change the subject, "I'm Ryo Mouri."

"I…" she replied hesitantly and a bit sadly, "...I don't...have a name."

"You don't?" I blinked, a bit surprised, "Well, that's not good, everyone needs a name, right?" She nodded and I thought for a little. It was then that I realized that she looked like a character from another Gundam series that I thoroughly enjoyed and told her, "I know! Why don't we call you Tiffa? Tiffa Adil, do you like that?" A thoughtful look crossed her face and then nodded.

"Alright then," I smiled, "Tiffa it is."

"Tee hee, I like you, you're funny," she giggled, "You're nice too…you're not like those other people."

"Eh, I get that a lot" I shrugged and as she gave me a confused look, I remembered that I had something to do, so I added, "Listen, Tiffa, I've got to run right now, so I'll see you tomorrow then, right?" She nodded with a smile and I smiled too before getting up and saying good bye. When I had done that, I hurried off back home.

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"So this is it?"

"Yes, this is the G."

"Hmm, it looks oddly familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before," I said as my father and I looked at the Mobile Suit in front of us. Or should I say, Mobile _Armor_, it would be more suiting for what it looked like. It looked more or less what the X Gundam would look like if it were turned into a plane. The shield was attached to the top of the Satellite Cannon, which was pointing straight forward, and the wings were positioned to look like those of a jet, despite the fact that they were aligned at a forty-five degree angle. It was basically a transformed Wing Gundam, only it was the GX instead of the Wing Gundam. "Think I can fly it?" I asked, hoping that he would oblige.

"Well, I don't see why not," he replied, with a slight shrug "But it'll take a while, even if you are a Coordinator."

"If you say so," I shrugged. I still didn't really believe that I was really a Coordinator like my dad told me I was but then again, there was a lot of stuff that I didn't really believe at the moment. Of course, that didn't mean that I didn't want to try it out, as I had always wanted to use a Mobile Suit.

For the next few weeks, I basically followed the same schedule; get up, go meet Tiffa for a while, then head to the hangar to work on the Mobile Suit simulator. I became so absorbed in this that I almost forgot what everything that had happened before. Then, one day, I woke up and looked at the calendar and saw that it was Valentine's Day. Something in my head stirred but I didn't know what it was, so I ignored it for most of the day. It was only when I was back in the Mobile Suit hanger when I realized what had been nagging me. Today was the day that the Bloody Valentine was supposed to happen, the day that a battle was to break out between ZAFT and the Earth Forces just outside the colony and result in its destruction via nuclear missile, causing the war between Coordinators and Naturals to begin. Then, something else clicked. I was had become pretty familiar with the Mobile Suit that I had named "X Gundam" because of the practice stimulators that I had done and maybe, just maybe, I could use the power of the Gundam to stop the Bloody Valentine from happening. And then, the war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance would never occur!

As this exciting thought ran through my head, however, another thought occurred to me. There was, of course, the nagging possibility of failure. Even though the Gundam possessed great power, it still wasn't indestructible and even Phase Shift armor didn't last forever; one nuke was all it would take to turn me into part of space. With this thought in mind, I paused and tried to think. Was it really worth the risk to go out into the middle of a battle to protect something that would probably get destroyed anyway? I then mentally smacked myself and turned before hurrying out of the hangar and into the streets. If I did fail and still somehow manage to survive while the colony got destroyed, I needed to make sure that I wasn't the only one who got out of the whole mess alive.

I don't know how long I had been running for but I knew that every second that passed was another second that I didn't have to prevent the whole colony from being reduced to scrap, along with everyone living on it. Then, I turned what seemed to be the fifth corner and saw Tiffa sitting on the ground like she usually was when I went out to see her. Only this time, there wasn't any time for much conversation.

"Hey! Tiffa!" I called out to her and she looked up at me in surprise as I ran over to her.

"Oh! Hello there!" she smiled as she stood up, "I didn't expect you to come until later…"

"There's no time for that right now!" I interrupted sharply and grabbed her shoulders, startling her, "C'mon, this is serious!" Saying that, I took her hand and pulled her along, saying, "Hurry! They'll be here any second!"

"W-wait!" she stammered as she struggled to keep up, "Where are we going?! What's going on?!"

"I'll explain everything later!" I replied without looking back, "Right now, we have to get to the hanger!"

"Th-the hanger?!" she exclaimed, "But…I thought that was a restricted area!"

"Well," I said with a small grin, "Let's just say that I have certain connections." She didn't say anything after that; I guessed that she was saving her breath for running. After a few minutes, we were at the main entrance of the Mobile Suit Hanger and when we reached the door, I quickly punched in the security code that I had memorized from the times that I had watched my father had used it. As soon as the door hissed open, I hurried inside, pulling Tiffa along with me.

"Hey! What are you doing in here?!" I heard someone shout, "This is a restricted…."

"My name is Ryo Mouri!" I yelled back, "If you have any doubts, just ask my father!" I didn't hear him say anything else and I guessed that he had gotten the message. Soon, we had reached the doorway to the docking area and I quickly opened it, rushing past the maintenance crew as they walked around.

"Sir?! Is something wrong?" I heard one call out, "How come you're in such a hurry?! And who's that with you?!"

"There's no time for that!" I replied as I raced towards the Gundam, which was still in Mobile Armor mode, "Just hurry up and get this thing ready for launch!"

"What?! Sir, you're crazy!" he exclaimed, "You're not seriously going to pilot that thing, are you?!"

"I've done pilot simulations!" I said, "I already know how to work it!"

"But sir!" he complained, "That Mobile Suit is still in its prototype stage, we don't know if everything's even working properly! And besides, you don't have a pilot suit on!"

"If I can pull this off, I'll come back for one later!" I shouted back, "But there's not much time left! Now hurry up and get this thing ready for launch!" By now, I had reached the cockpit and after helping Tiffa into it, I climbed in as well and closed the hatch. "Stay behind my seat," I told her as I started up the O.S. and the screens flashed to life, "This could get a little rough. Deck Crew, what the hell are you doing up there?! Clear the damn gate already!"

"Y-yes sir!" I heard him say through the intercom in the cockpit, "Opening the main hatch! Linear catapult is fully operational! You are good to go, sir, good luck!"

"Ryo Mouri! X Gundam! Launching!" I shouted and pushed the two control handles on each arm rest forward. At that moment, the force of the machine being pushed forward by the Linear Catapult forced me back into my seat and I saw Tiffa trying her best not to fall over from the corner of my eye. Soon, however, the sensation passed as the Gundam departed from the catapult and I stepped on a pedal on the floor to activate the thrusters. As I cruised around, I looked at the view screens and watched as the vast void of space passed me by; it was a wondrous sight to behold. "Wow, I never thought that space was this big!" I said in amazement, "Will you just look at that, Tiffa?" I looked back at her and saw that her eyes were shining in wonder and that was enough for me to know how she was feeling. Then, I noticed that she was looking a bit frightened and I couldn't blame her, she had probably never seen space this close before. "Hey, don't be scared," I told her and smiled, "I promise that I'll do my best to..." Before I could finish, however, a beeping sound from the controls cut me off, signifying that the radar had picked something up, so I instantly zoomed the main camera in on the disturbance. "They're here!" I thought when I saw several Mobius Mobile Armors approaching and then said to Tiffa, "Hold on tight, this could get a little ugly." Saying that, I pushed the pedal down again and steered the Gundam right towards the incoming Mobile Armors, where several Nelson and Drake-class ships were staying behind.

"W-what are those?" Tiffa asked fearfully when she looked at the front screen, "Are they ships?"

"They're Mobile Armors, the actual ships are behind them," I replied, narrowing my eyes, "And they're not here to say Happy Valentine's Day. Those Mobiuses are carrying nuclear missiles and they're heading right for Junius Seven with a purpose: to destroy it." I heard her gasp in fear and shock as I continued, "That's why we're out here, we're gonna try and stop them from destroying the colony."

"We?" she blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't exactly focus my attention on all three screens at once, you know," I said, even though I was lying a little, "So I need you to constantly keep an eye on a screen or two in case something tries to sneak up on us, okay?" She nodded, though she didn't look very convinced. I returned the nod and then reached over and pressed the button that would activate the Gundam's Phase Shift armor, which would protect us from bullets and most explosions but not against beam weapons as long as it stayed active. The power meter immediately lit up to show that it was active before I accessed the combat computer to view the armaments. So far, all weapons were unable to be used because the Gundam was in Mobile Armor mode except for the Satellite Cannon, which acted as a Scylla Cannon in Mobile Armor mode. "Well, at least I have something good that I can use," I thought as the targeting visor moved into position over my eyes, "But I probably shouldn't use it until I get closer, I can't afford to miss, especially since this thing is still in its prototype stage like that guy said." By now, I could see several of ZAFT's Nazca and Laurasia class ships moving out as well, launching their Ginn Mobile Suits to counter the incoming Mobiuses. I waited a little until I was in range before tightening my grip around the trigger, preparing to shoot. I sort of wished that I could have seen the look on the faces of the Mobile Armor Pilots when they saw the Gundam heading for them but I didn't let that thought distract me as I tried to get a solid lock-on.

As soon as the targeting rings had merged into one and turned red, I pulled the trigger with my finger and felt the cockpit jerk a bit as a wide burst of energy exploded from the nozzle of the main gun. A few seconds later, a bright ball of fire appeared as the beam hit its target and destroyed it. Meanwhile, the other Mobiuses had scattered in an attempt to maneuver around me and I made a sharp turn to face them again. I fired again and this time, I only managed to damage one severely but it was intact enough for it to pull out. Figuring that it wouldn't be any trouble, I ignored it and continued to pursue the others. After another shot, another Mobile Armor was gone and there were about four or five left. This time, I maneuvered so that I was to the side of them and fired again, hoping to take out the last of them all at once. However, at least two managed to escape undamaged while the other three exploded in balls of flame. "That wasn't too hard," I thought, "Now to just…" At that moment, my radar picked up more incoming objects and I zoomed in the camera to see what it was. "What?! Reinforcements?!" I thought in alarm when I saw that it was what looked like a small fleet of Mobiuses, "But how…wait, of course! That one Mobius that I let go! It must have gone and called for support when it escaped! Crap, I should've destroyed it when I had the chance!"

"We don't care how much firepower your fancy little craft has, Coordinator!" I heard one of the pilots say, "We'll destroy you and the colonies, you contaminated freak!"

"What did you say?!" I snarled in response, "Eat this, you bastard!" With that, I fired again, not bothering to get any closer. "It's kind of convenient," I thought as I watched balls of flame flare up, "That they're all bunched together like that, it makes destroying them a lot easier." By now, the Ginns had joined the battle and were shooting down Mobius units left and right. Just then, the radar picked up something else and this time, it was something else that was a lot faster. I suddenly remembered that Mobiuses could be armed with normal missiles and railguns as well as nuclear missiles but by then it was too late, the cockpit shook violently as the missiles hit the Gundam on its left side.

"Look out! Here come more!" I heard Tiffa exclaim and I looked at the left screen to see more of them headed towards us.

"Ah crap!" I exclaimed and tried to maneuver away from them but they were too fast, the cockpit shook again and I grunted as I struggled to keep the Mobile Suit steady. "I didn't want to have to resort to this," I thought as I gasped for breath, "But this Mobile Armor mode isn't going to be much use against all these Mobiuses. Well, here goes nothing…" With that thought, I reached out and hit a switch that would transform the Gundam into Mobile Suit mode. The lower torso rotated around completely as the Satellite Cannon and wings rotated so that the one was pointing straight up and the other was sticking out to the left. The head swiveled around to face forward and the shoulder armor rotated up to complete the transformation as the shield folded itself down to form a beam rifle. The Gundam's combat computer automatically made its right hand reach out and grab hold of the beam rifle's handle before a new combat interface appeared on the screen.

"W-what the hell?!" I heard one of the Mobius pilots exclaim, "That…that Mobile Armor! It just transformed into a Mobile Suit!"

"It doesn't matter!" another one replied, "Just shoot it down so that we can move on to more important matters!"

"We'll see who shoots who down!" I said and aimed the beam rifle at a cluster of Mobiuses before firing a hot pink energy beam at them from the weapon before it pierced two of them and destroyed them, taking out another in the explosion. I gunned the thrusters again and the wings rotated and then split to form a rather flat "X" shape behind the Gundam while the Satellite Cannon pointed straight down as I flew towards another group of Mobile Armors. After destroying a few with a couple of shots from the beam rifle, another few flew out from behind the smoke and fired their railguns at me. I used the thrusters to dodge and then fired off the Gundam's four-barreled shoulder Igelstellung gun before finishing off the rest with the four chest Igelstellungs. However, the radar signaled that even more were on their way and I turned the Gundam to face them. "This is getting annoying," I thought as I transformed the beam rifle back into a shield and attached it to the left arm, "Just how many of those things are there?!"

Figuring that it would be easier to go after the ships, I had the Gundam draw its large beam sword that was connected to the back of the Satellite Cannon and flew forward to intercept the incoming Mobius fleet. At first, I was able to destroy a few easily with the long, pale green blade but then they split up and gave me a straight shot at the Alliance fleet. I quickly scanned the fleet, looking for their flagship. Quickly spotting an Agamemnon-class carrier, I quickly flew towards it, cutting through the bridge of a Drake-class ship on the way. Mobiuses seemed to suddenly swarm in from all directions as I approached the carrier, trying to prevent me from reaching it. I ignored them and pressed on until finally, I had the X Gundam thrust its saber into the bridge, leaving the ship dead in space. "Ha! Now for the others," I grinned when all of a sudden, I heard warning sound from the monitor and I was shocked to see that the battery was almost completely depleted. And still, more of the Mobile Armors came until I was almost completely surrounded while a few others armed with nukes started to slip through ZAFT's defenses, heading for the colony.

"Give it up, Coordinator!" one of the pilots gloated, "We've got you completely outnumbered, so you might as well just surrender now!"

"God, now I'm in deep shit," I thought, "If I fight them, I'll just drain my battery and then I'll be a sitting duck when the Phase Shift goes down. But if I surrender, the colony will get destroyed and there's no telling what they'll do with Tiffa and I when that's over. So there's one last thing I could do…but doing it's gonna be a big risk. If I screw this up, I could destroy what I'm trying to protect. Well, here goes…" I narrowed my eyes and flipped up a cover that was on the sideboard before saying, "This is our only chance to beat them, Tiffa, but I'll do my best to pull it off."

"What do you mean?" she asked and I answered by pressing the button beneath the cover that I had just flipped up. All at once, the screen changed to reveal an "X" shaped power meter as the wings rotated and then opened into a full "X" shape while the Satellite Cannon folded over the Gundam's right shoulder. As the Gundam grasped the weapon, I noticed a streak of light heading for us and then, it struck the green area in front of the cockpit and the wings began to glow a brilliant white. The forearm covers, the lower leg armor, the bands on the shoulder armor, and two shafts that were close to the shoulder armor began to glow bright blue as the power meter began to fill up with red.

"Better get the ZAFT guys out of the way…" I thought and activated the Gundam's comm. before saying, "Attention, ZAFT forces! This is Ryo Mouri from the Junius 7 Agricultural PLANT! This unit is about to fire a large-scale beam weapon, please withdraw at once!" "W-what's going on?!" Tiffa asked fearfully and then all of a sudden, she seemed to realize what was going and frantically said, "No! Don't fire it! The weapon's too powerful!"

"I'm sorry," I frowned, "But I've got no choice, I either shoot or we all die." I tightened my finger around the trigger as the power meter filled up completely and shouted to the Mobiuses, "You think I'm gonna give up to people like you?! Well think again!" With that, I pulled the trigger and massive wave of white energy erupted from the Satellite Cannon's nozzle, engulfing the Mobile Armors in its path and then I moved the control stick to have the Gundam move the Satellite Cannon around as it fired. The beam continued to go on as Mobile Armor and warship alike were annihilated by the white energy.

And that was where things went completely wrong.

One of the Mobius pilots, probably in a desperate attempt to complete his mission, launched a nuclear missile right at the Gundam and I instinctively moved the Satellite Cannon to face it. I managed to destroy it in time before it hit but the shockwave shook the cockpit, causing my hand to slip and move the control stick in the wrong direction. As the last few Mobiuses disappeared in the light, the blast continued to move on; towards Junius Seven. "No!" I thought in alarm and tried to stop the beam but it was too late, I could do nothing but watch in horror as the shot wiped out the ZAFT Mobile Suits and ships before and then cut a hole into the colony's center and a second later, a blinding explosion filled the black void of space as it exploded. I heard Tiffa scream in horror behind me and my own eyes were hurting from the brightness of the explosion. "N-no…." I said slowly before slamming my fist onto the armrest and shouting, "God dammit! It wasn't supposed to have been this way!"

And for the next few minutes, I just sat in the pilot's seat, trying not to break down in tears after the horrible tragedy that I had just caused. When the whole ordeal started, I planned to save Junius Seven and prevent the Bloody Valentine from ever happening and now, I had been the one who caused it. I had rewritten the entire history of the Cosmic Era, alright, but not the way that I had planned to. In fact, I was wishing that I could try again, that I could make things go the way that they should be. I knew, though, that it would never happen and that I had just blown my only chance. The whole time, Tiffa was squeezing my arm tightly, trying not to cry too but then, I noticed that the expression on her face had changed. I looked closer and saw that instead of sorrow, she now had a look of intense fear on her face and she was breathing in sharp gasps. "Tiffa?" I said to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you…okay?" She didn't reply and I was just about to ask her again when she grabbed her head with her hands and started screaming in pain. "T-Tiffa?!" I exclaimed, "What…what are you…what's wrong?! Tiffa?!" The only response that I got from her was more screaming and then that was when I remembered something. In Gundam X, Tiffa was a Newtype, and this girl that looked like her might be one too. Because of their powers, they could feel the emotions of living things and when the colony was destroyed, the fear and pain of the hundreds upon thousands of inhabitants as they died must have rushed into her at an unbearable rate.

"Wait a minute…" I thought to myself, "Cosmic Era Newtypes are different from others…so why is she…?" All of a sudden, she passed out right in the middle of a scream and I had to grab hold of her to keep her from floating around in the cockpit and pulled her down so that she was lying across my lap. I knew that we needed to head somewhere, so I deactivated the Gundam's phase-shift armor and transformed it back into Mobile Armor mode. "Sorry, everyone," I thought sadly as I activated the thrusters, "I let you all down." Taking one last look at where Junius Seven had once been, I then turned my attention back to the monitor and then took off at full speed, leaving behind the scattered pieces of what had been my home and the last few bits of innocence I had had left.

-----------------------------------------------------------

After several hours of traveling through the black void of space, I finally came upon the Lagrange Point 3 colony cluster, the place where the neutral colony Heliopolis was located. I figured that since it was a neutral colony, I would be able to get in without any trouble but I was proven wrong when a transmission came from the Space Port Control Center saying, "This is Heliopolis Space Port Control Center contacting approaching vessel! Identify yourself and your reason for being here at once!"

"These people sure are uptight for a neutral colony," I thought before replying, "This is the pilot of this craft to Port Control! This vessel is from the Agricultural PLANT Junius 7, I'm requesting permission to dock!"

"Hold on a second," they said, "If you're from Junius Seven, why is your vessel armed?"

"My ship's weapon is for defensive uses only," I lied, "I have no intention of using it in this territory, now do I have permission to dock or not?"

"Not yet, you don't," they responded, "Just why are you here in the first place? How do we know that you're not a ZAFT pilot?" By now, I was getting irritated and deep down, a bit desperate, and so I did what I had to do.

"Listen, I'm only going to tell this to you once," I sighed, "Junius Seven…was destroyed a few hours ago and I used this vessel to escape along with a friend of mine. Right now, she's in bad condition and she needs a doctor right way. Please, let me dock and I promise that I won't trouble you any further, I even have a recording of what happened if you don't believe me." There was an awkward silence and I was just about to give up and try another colony when they gave me their answer.

"…Very well," they said, "Permission to dock granted. Please proceed." At that moment, the hanger door opened and a light-flight path appeared before I slowly guided the Gundam inside. Once I had safely docked, I opened the cockpit and carried Tiffa out, using the weak gravity to float to the ground gently. A maintenance team appeared and one of them asked me, "Are you the pilot of this vessel?" I nodded and they continued, "You're awfully young to be piloting something like that."

"Well, I've had some practice," I replied, "I guess I just have a knack for this stuff."

"If you say so," the person shrugged and then nodded at Tiffa, "We'll get your friend to the nearest infirmary; you can come with us if you want." I nodded and he immediately hailed for a transport.

-----------------------------------------------------------

By the time that everything had been taken care of, I was amazed at the hospitality that the people of Heliopolis had to offer towards newcomers. They had already given Tiffa and I a place to stay and they told me that they would cover the bills for us until we could get a job, so I had nothing to worry about. In fact, they even advised that I go and walk around for a bit so that I could get used to the place. As I walked around through the streets, I looked around and saw that here, everyone seemed to have no worries whatsoever; it was like Heliopolis was just a safe haven for people wanting to get away from the world. I sighed, knowing that in a matter of months, Heliopolis would also be destroyed, just like Junius Seven had been. "Why is it…" I wondered, "That the good people are the ones that die first?" I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't watch where I was going and walked right into someone. "Sorry," I apologized quickly, rubbing my forehead, "I just got a little distracted and didn't see you."

"It's alright," the person replied in a friendly way and I looked up to see a boy who looked vaguely familiar. He was about my height and looked just about as old as I was. He had brown hair and violet eyes and I had a strange feeling that I knew this guy but I just couldn't put my finger on it. "So, you new around here?" he asked, jolting me from my thoughts.

"Um, yeah," I nodded, "I, uh, just got here today…"

"Really?" he asked, "Where are you staying?"

"That apartment over there…I think…" I said, taking a piece of paper from my pocket and looking at it, "The one on Gera Street…"

"Awesome!" the stranger grinned, "That's where I live! You must be going to the Technical Institute too!"

"Um…yeah…" I nodded slowly, "Sure…"

"Did you come here by yourself?" he suddenly asked, "Or with your family."

"By…by myself…" I stammered, "I'm an orphan, so…"

"Oh, I see," he said, a sympathetic look coming to his eyes, "So, what's your name?"

"Ryo Mouri," I told him, "What about you?"

"I'm Kira," the boy said, "Kira Yamato. Nice to meet you, Ryo."


	2. False Peace

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 01- False Peace

_April 2, C.E. 70, Earth's orbit, Earth_

It was another sunrise for the Gulf of Carpentaria, near the southern tip of Australia as the day began. People were getting up to start their day without any worries, oblivious to the threat coming from above. For up in orbit above them, streaks of red light were falling from the stars towards the Earth Forces headquarters set up there. They were ZAFT's atmospheric landing pods, launched from their warships for terrestrial battles. "Contact with the first layer has been made," a voice crackled over the speakers, "Decelerating to Mach 4. Angel is acceptable, 28 seconds until cool down, commencing clip control."

"Alpha 1 to all units, confirming approximately four layers," the squad leader said over the comm., the interior of his cockpit glowing red, "All units report in."

"Bravo 2, reporting."

"Charlie 3, reporting."

"Delta 4, reporting."

"Contact with the second layer confirmed," the squad leader nodded, "Let's show those bastards what we're made of." As the interior of the cockpit dimmed, he added, "Exiting out layer. Decelerating to Mach 0.9, stopping cool down. Position is ideal, final landing coordinates have been located." After a brief pause, he added, "May the heavens smile down upon all of us. Okay, gentlemen…let's go!"

"For ZAFT!"

"For ZAFT."

"For ZAFT…" At that, the locks holding the pod together blew, allowing it to split apart to reveal four Ginn Mobile Suits inside, back-to-back with each other. As the final piece flew off, the four Ginns separated, spiraling towards the ground as their pink mono-lenses flared up.

-----------------------------

_It is now year 70 of the Cosmic Era. After a formal declaration of war on February 11th, tensions between the Earth and the Coordinator-aligned PLANTs erupted into a full scale military confrontation following the infamous "Bloody Valentine" incident three days later. In response to the Earth Forces' superior numbers, the Coordinator military force "ZAFT" deployed powerful Neutron-Jammers, nullifying nuclear energy and blocking radio transmissions and radar; effectively plunging the Earth into a severe energy crisis. Original predictions that the Earth Alliance would stage a sweeping victory at the initial battles were quickly proven to be wrong._

_11 months have now passed, and the end of war is still no where in sight…_

-----------------------------

The date was January 25th, Cosmic Era 71; a day that would turn the course of the war around. No one, however, knew the importance of today, save for one individual who was just waking up. "Mmph…dammit…" Ryo grumbled as he sleepily switched off the blaring alarm clock and slipped a grey hooded sweatshirt over his head before pulling a pair of black pants on as I climbed out of bed, "Why am I getting up so early on a Saturday…?" Then he remembered, today was the day that the Earth Alliance Mobile Suits were to be rolled out from the nearby Morgenroete factory except for two; the X-303 Aegis and X-105 Strike. The other three; the X-102 Duel, X-103 Buster, and X-207 Blitz were the ones being rolled out. Ryo thought about this as he plodded over to the bathroom and briefly wondered if he should use the X Gundam to try and interfere. After a minute, though, he reminded himself that so far, all that the Gundam had done was destroy Junius 7 and he hadn't flown it since then, although he did constantly go to check on it. In the end, he decided that he didn't want to be the cause of the destruction of Heliopolis too. Nonetheless, he decided that he could at least give it a try and headed for the kitchen to fix some breakfast for himself after washing his face and brushing his teeth. When he got there, he saw that Tiffa was already sitting at the table, nibbling on a piece of toast.

"Oh, good morning, Ryo," she said to his when she noticed that he was in the room, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," he nodded, still almost half-asleep and half-truthfully. The night before had been filled with nightmares of the Bloody Valentine tragedy that he had caused, forcing him to relive the horrible incident over and over again, even though it had been nearly a year since that day. Tiffa seemed to sense that something was going on in his mind and looked up from her already barely touched piece of toast as he made a cup of coffee for himself. Although not particularly fond of the taste, it was the only real way to wake him up, and it also had a calming effect on his mind when he was troubled.

"You're thinking about what happened, aren't you?" she asked timidly as he took a sip of the slightly bitter drink, as if she was afraid that the question would anger him.

"Sort of," he said, taking another sip and making a face, "It's just that…I haven't really gotten over it yet. I keep on seeing it in my dreams and frankly, I'm getting sick of it. I wanted to protect the colony but I end up destroying it instead, the irony of it all's just sickening sometimes." Tiffa nodded a bit and played around with her toast a bit between her fingers before deciding to break the silence again as Ryo rummaged through a cabinet.

"Well…it wasn't exactly your fault," she replied, "If the last Mobius didn't shoot at us, this would have never happened."

"No," Ryo sighed, shaking his head, "I should have listened to you in the first place. If I didn't fire, I might have been able to destroy them with the energy that I had left and avoided taking such a big risk." There was a pause before he added, "Have you seen the sugar?"

"Ryo…"

"Forget it," he suddenly smiled, changing the subject before saying, "I'm gonna head over to the park, you wanna come along?" She nodded and left her toast on her plate as Ryo dumped the rest of his coffee out into the sink before the two of them headed out of the door. The reason Ryo was going to the city park was because he knew that Kira was often there in the mornings, especially on Saturdays, and he had wanted to have a word with him. It was a nice day; rather warm despite the fact that it was late January because of the colony's climate control and they were at the park in a matter of minutes. It was full of people, as it usually was on the weekends, out enjoying the day off and it wasn't uncommon to find friends there.

Before long, Ryo spotted Kira sitting in a gazebo with his computer on his lap and for a moment, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the brunette, knowing that his destiny would unfold before him today. Heading over to him, Ryo noticed that a news broadcast was showing on the screen of his computer as he called out, "Hey! Kira!" The said boy looked up, his violet eyes showing a hint of surprise as he focused on them. The two had become rather fast friends since their first meeting and Ryo had found that they had a lot in common. Kira had introduced him to his own friends, who Ryo and Tiffa also befriended quickly. Needless to say, Kira had been a great help to the two when it came to settling in and getting used to this lifestyle.

"Oh, hey guys," Kira smiled when we were close enough, "How's it going?"

"We're fine," I shrugged as the two of us sat down inside the structure across from him, "Nice day, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," Kira nodded and looked back at the screen, his laptop on his lap and the fingers on his right hand were flying across the keyboard while his left hand held a notepad. At that moment, a small green flew down from the sky and landed on his laptop before making a chirping sound. It was his mechanical bird, which was ironically called Birdee and something that he once said an old friend had given to him. Ryo was about to say something else when someone else called out to us.

"Hey! Kira! Ryo! Tiffa!" The three of them looked to see two other people waving to them as they walked over. One was a boy who was the same age as Kira and Ryo with wavy, brown hair and steel-blue eyes. This youth, wearing a light-blue and jeans, was Tolle Koenig, a friend of Kira's who attended the same school as them. The second was a girl who was also Tolle's age with short, lighter brown hair that curled up in the back near her neck, which brought out her bright blue eyes. She was wearing an orange shirt with white streaks and a matching long skirt. The girl was Miriallia Haw, Tolle's girlfriend and another classmate.

"Ah, the couple" Ryo said with a nod, humor evident in his voice, "Getting some fresh air or is this another date?"

"Hey!" they exclaimed with a laugh at the same time, both turning a bit red in the face.

"Just messing with ya," Ryo grinned, amused by their reaction.

"Right," Tolle replied sarcastically then looked at Kira before adding, "By the way, Kira, Professor Kato was looking for you; he asked us to come find you for him."

"Again?" Kira groaned, "I wish he'd leave me alone…"

"Well, it's not surprising that the professor favors you," Tolle smiled, "After all, you're one of the top students in the Science Department in your class, Ryo's the only one who's as good as you are."

"And besides, you really don't have a choice," Miriallia grinned, "Because the professor told us to drag you there if you didn't come. What is it now? Does he need your help with something again?"

"I guess it's that new Operating System," Kira replied and sighed, repositioning himself and slouching on the seat, "Dammit, I haven't even finished the one that he gave me to work on yesterday…"

"You guess? You don't even know what you're working on?"

"That's typical of you, Tolle."

"Come on, I'm just a student assistant, he never gives me any details!"

"You know, as much I'd love to sit here all day and watch you guys bicker, we're not going to get anything accomplished by staying here," Ryo suddenly interrupted, "So what do you say we get moving, huh? And don't sweat it, Kira, I'll try and give you a hand with it."

"Thanks, Ryo," Kira nodded sat up a bit straighter as the news shifted from a report on the South African refugee camps to the conflict going on in Kaoshiung.

"Hey, what's this?" Tolle asked as he entered the gazebo with Miriallia to get a look, "Something on the news?"

"Yeah, some broadcast on Kaoshiung," Kira replied, "Looks like ZAFT went down there and stirred up some trouble."

"I'm here live at the scene at Kaoshiung, where the sounds of fierce combat continue to rage on!" the reporter announced as screaming and explosions were heard in the background, "Although the Earth Forces are putting up a valiant effort, it looks as if it's only a matter of time before the ZAFT army overwhelms its defenses…"

"Eh, if that was news from last week," Tolle said, "Then Kaohsiung's probably already fallen to ZAFT."

"Isn't Kaoshiung awfully close to us?" Miriallia asked, sounding worried, "What if the fighting makes it way here? Will we be okay?"

"Don't worry, Milly," Tolle smiled assuredly, "Even if it's close by, we're perfectly safe here. ORB would never get involved in war, that's why it's a neutral nation."

"Really?" Miriallia sighed, "Well, if you say so…"

"You guys have no idea how wrong you are," Ryo thought, "But…you'll realize it by the time today's over along with everyone else..." Just then, Birdee took off from Kira's shoulder and he looked up as he closed the laptop screen. Watching the mechanical bird fly away, the sounds around him slowly faded as he began to drift into a memory.

-----------------------------

_The sun was setting at the colony of Copernicus as a breeze made its way through the park, plucking cherry blossom petals from the branches and scattering them everywhere. Standing in the park were two young boys, facing each other. "The PLANTs and the Earth won't go to war," the first one smiled, a cap on top of his neck-length blue hair while his green eyes sparkled merrily, "There's no real reason to take shelter." With that, he held out his hands, which cupped a small green object. The brunette held his hands out as well and the green object, a small mechanical bird, came to life and hopped into his hands. "You'll be joining me later at the PLANTs," the bluenette smiled as the other boy held the bird close, "Right, Kira?"_

-----------------------------

"What's he doing?" Miriallia blinked, staring at her daydreaming friend, "Is he okay?"

"Beats me," Tolle shrugged, "Kira? Kira!"

"I'll handle this," Ryo sighed and without warning, grabbed Kira by the ear and shouted, "KIRA YAMATO!! STOP DAYDREAMING AND FOCUS!!"

"Aaaaahhhh!" Kira yelped, jerking about as if he had just received an electric shock and landing sprawled out on the seat, "The value of Z is Pi!" There was a rather awkward silence as the group stared at the brunette, a few with sweat-drops rolling down their heads. It took for a moment for Kira to realize what he had just said and he grinned sheepishly from his position, "Eh heh heh…sorry?"

"Sometimes I wonder how this guy became my friend," I sighed before saying, "Come on, we'd better get going before we actually have to drag you to the labs."

-----------------------------

"Axis adjustment to the right 6.51 points, entry vector satisfactory. Braking jets off, transferring movement controls over to the electromagnetic dock." An Alliance Nelson-class ship was making its way inside the Heliopolis Space Port, slowly and steadily backing into the opening. "Rate of deceleration is 2.56 mps. Stopping the ship."

"And with that, this ship's final mission has been completed without a hitch," the Captain said with a sigh of relief, removing his cap, "You did a fine job of escorting our ship, Lieutenant Flaga." The man who he was talking to stood a little ways in front of him, turning from the front viewport. He was about 28, with wavy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes to match and an unusually upbeat attitude for a soldier. This was Lieutenant Mu la Flaga, an acclaimed Mobile Armor pilot from the former 3rd Fleet's elite Mobius Zero corps, who earned the nickname the "Hawk of Endymion" during the final battle of Grimaldi Front, where he shot down five Ginn Mobile Suits using his TS-MA2mod.00 Mobius Zero; a feat that was considered nearly impossible at the time. His nearly super-human sense of spatial awareness made him the perfect candidate to fly the complicated machines.

"Actually, we're lucky that nothing happened on our way here," Mu replied, "What's going on with the ZAFT ships that we spotted nearby?"

"We're detecting two just outside the borders," the Captain replied, "But what are you so nervous about? Even if they do enter the port, they can't do anything to us here."

"Yeah, yeah, 'cause this is a neutral colony," Mu nodded, "I've heard that so many times that I'm kind of sick of it now."

"You have a point," the Captain laughed, "But thanks to that fact, the plan has been able to go this far without any trouble. The fact that ORB is part of Earth, that is."

"Well then, Captain," an officer nearby said and the two looked to see five officers saluting them before the Captain saluted back and they left.

"Are you sure it's okay to let them go unsupervised?" Mu asked as the door hissed shut, "It could be dangerous doing that."

"Those guys are the top-guns that were chosen to operate the G-weapons," the Captain replied, "I'm sure that they'll be able to hold their own. Anyway, maybe it would be better for people of your status to go on home instead of sticking around and attracting more attention than you need." Mu smiled a bit and nodded before turning back to the viewport, feeling strangely uneasy.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, two ZAFT ships, a Laurasia and Nazca-class cruiser, had taken up position behind a satellite just outside of Heliopolis borders. The Nazca-class was the Vesalius, the flagship of the legendary Creuset Team led by Commander Rau Le Creuset, supported by the Laurasia-class the Gamow. Inside, the commander himself was debating with Captain Ades about their current objective. "Don't look so worried, Ades," Rau said calmly as he floated to the back of the bridge while the Captain watched.

"Well, I imagine that it wouldn't be too late to wait for word from the Council…" Ades replied, still unsure of the mission.

"It will be too late," the masked man replied, "I have a sixth sense about these things…" Picking up a photo, he let it drift over to Ades, who caught it to take a look, "If we fail, we'll all pay with our lives sooner or later. The Earth Forces' new Mobile weapons...we must capture them before they are rolled out…" At that time, the infiltration team was busy gearing up for the mission ahead. Most of them wore the standard green flight suit but five of them were dressed in red. These were the elite top-guns of the ZAFT army, the best pilots and soldiers that they had. The Creuset Team wasn't the only squad with red-coats, but the ones they did have were the best of the best. However, some of them had divided views on the matter.

"Should we really be doing this?" one of them asked, his reddish hair tucked neatly into his helmet as they settled into an insertion pod.

"What do you mean?" another one frowned, his cold blue eyes narrowing while his silver hair stayed neatly in place.

"Should we really be conducting an operation like this in a neutral colony?" the first red-coat, Rusty McKenzie, asked, "It just doesn't feel right."

"Pfft, if those guys are so neutral," the fair-head, Yzak Joule, scoffed, "Then why are they secretly building Mobile Suits for the Earth Forces?"

"You're right, that's unacceptable," Rusty laughed while the red-coat next to him sighed and closed his green eyes, "My mistake."

"Hurry up, guys!" a voice crackled over the speakers and a screen lit up to show the scowling face of their squad leader, Miguel Aiman, at the controls of his Ginn, "Don't keep us waiting here!"

"Roger that," Rusty smiled as the hatch opened, "For ZAFT, as they say…" With that, the pods launched, moving steadily towards the satellite before deploying its airbags, harmlessly bouncing into it. The first stage of the mission was well underway.

-----------------------------

"I'm telling you, it's not what you think!"

"No way!"

"Come on, 'fess up!"

"It's none of your business!" The five friends looked up to see three girls standing at the cab station, two of them playfully arguing with the third. Ryo instantly recognized the one in the middle, who was wearing a fancy pink shirt and a matching skirt. She had red hair and steel-blue eyes and noticed that Kira was staring at her, not that anyone didn't know why. This girl was Flay Alster, the daughter of a vice minister and Ryo knew that Kira had a major crush on her, although it wasn't really hard to tell. Ryo, however, didn't really get how people got along with her besides for her popularity and good looks; Ryo actually found her to be more of a nuisance than an actual friend. By now, Flay herself had noticed them and she had greeted them pleasantly, she actually wasn't as bad as Ryo thought she was when she was in a good mood. Judging from what he had overheard, however, Ryo concluded that there was something bothering her.

"Oh, hello, Miriallia," Flay smiled.

"Hi!" Miriallia replied happily

"Hey, Miriallia," one of Flay's friends grinned as she leaned on the other, "Did you hear the big news?"

"No, what happened?" Miriallia asked, interested.

"Hey! I told you to knock it off!"

"Oooh, this is oughta be good," Ryo grinned, already having an idea of what she was going to say.

"It is!" her friend smiled, "Flay got a love letter from Sai Argyle! But she's not telling us anything else!""

"Huh?! From Sai?!" Miriallia exclaimed, eyes wide from surprise. Tolle and Kira looked at each with odd looks on their faces and Tiffa just blinked; Ryo had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out in hysterical laughter as the temptation to laugh at their reactions built up.

"Come on! This has nothing to do with Miriallia!" Flay fumed, her cheerfulness had evaporated by now.

"Excuse us," a voice said behind them, "If you're not getting on, may we go first?" The group turned to see a woman standing behind them with two other men behind her. It was hard to tell what she looked like because of the shades she wore, but they guessed that she was a business-woman from the way she was dressed.

"Oh, right," Tolle nodded, "Please excuse us." The woman nodded her thanks and Tolle and Kira stepped aside to let them pass. Shortly after they left in a cab, Flay turned back to her friends, frowning again.

"What did I tell you guys?"

"Come on, Flay, why don't you just accept? He's not all that bad."

"Ugh, forget it!" Flay huffed and turned to get into another cab, "I'm leaving!"

"Hey! Wait up!" As the girls piled into the cab, the others watched them drive off before Tolle turned to Kira with a grin.

"A letter from Sai, eh?" Tolle asked, "Kind of surprising, even for Flay Alster." Putting his hands on Kira's shoulders, he added, "Sounds like you've got some fierce competition, Kira Yamato."

"Hey!" Kira exclaimed as they waited for the next cab to arrive, "It's not like that!"

-----------------------------

"It certainly is peaceful here," the business-woman from before muttered as she looked around in the back seat, "Everyone here is so carefree…" As the bluenette in the front seat looked back at her, she pulled off her shades to reveal a pair of violet eyes under her short black hair, "And yet, ZAFT and the Earth Forces are sending youths around their ages to the frontlines everyday…" Sighing, she loosened her jacket and the wind caused it to peel back a little, revealing a white Earth Forces uniform underneath.

"Ensign," the bluenette said, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"We'll be arriving shortly," the woman, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel replied, "It shouldn't be too much of a problem."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, the ZAFT infiltration team had arrived at their designated target, their way in. "We've arrived at the Block Six maintenance hatch," Rusty reported, "Commencing with the entry plan." Lifting up a flap on the sleeve of his flight suit, Rusty glanced down at a watch that was hidden under it before it flashed and the hatch in front of them opened. Inside the hatch, however were multiple beams of red light that would trigger an alarm if disturbed. However, when his watch flashed again, the lights disappeared and the infiltration team slipped inside.

-----------------------------

"It's not a big deal, Kira," Tolle said as the group pulled up in front of Gate 3 at the Morgenroete lab, "If you won't ask, then I will."

"That's enough, Tolle," Ryo grumbled, leaning over from his seat to swipe his identification card through a slot to open the gate.

"Five engineering students confirmed," a security officer announced as he watched through a screen while a computer confirmed their identities, "Switching to trace mode." A few minutes later, the group walked into Professor Kato's lab, which was essentially a few computers and a robotic suit of armor standing in the middle of the room.

"Yo," Tolle called out casually as they entered.

"Ah, Kira, you're here," a boy said from behind a monitor. His brown eyes were covered by a pair of glasses that had lenses that were tinted orange and his light brown hair was spiked up so that it stuck up in the front. This was the Sai Argyle that Flay was supposed to have received a letter from. He was also wearing a red shirt with a flame design near the bottom. Kira gave a light smile before noticing a stranger wearing dark clothes standing in the corner.

"Hey, wasn't it just supposed to be Kira?" asked their other friend, Kuzzey Buskirk. He had black hair that matched his eyes and he was wearing a green and black hooded sweatshirt. Both of he and Sai were classmates of theirs and the same age as them, with the exception of Tiffa.

"You have a problem with us being here, Kuzzey?" Tolle frowned and Kuzzey immediately shook his head no.

"Who's that?" Miriallia whispered, pointing at the stranger in the corner.

"I don't know," Kuzzey shrugged, "I think a guest of the professor's, maybe…"

"Speaking of which, where is he, anyway?" Kira asked, "Didn't he want to see me?"

-----------------------------

At this time, the ZAFT infiltration team had entered a large room. From a grate in the floor, they could see a large white battleship below them before the bluenette gave a series of hand signals. Understanding, the team split up to complete their objectives.

-----------------------------

"Here," Sai said, handing Kira a diskette, "The Professor added this too. I think it's some stuff on Morgenroete."

"Nope," Kira replied, looking it over, "Just something to improve the Frame-set module. Anyway, how about a program analysis?"

-----------------------------

The infiltration team had entered the room with the white ship, soundlessly floating about to avoid detection. One by one, they slipped rectangular charges from their bags and attached them to vital areas before slipping back into the dark.

-----------------------------

"Hey!" Tolle suddenly exclaimed, putting Kira into a head-lock from behind, "Let's hear about that letter first!"

"Letter?" Sai blinked.

"I-It's nothing!" Kira stammered, flailing his arms about as he tried to break free.

"As if!"

-----------------------------

"Hurry up, you idiot!" Yzak hissed at the bluenette as they glided through the shaft to get out, "We're already ten seconds behind schedule!"

"I got it!" the bluenette replied, not looking back.

"Heh, I can already imagine the looks on their pacifist faces…"

-----------------------------

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Like I said…"

"It's nothing! Nothing!"

"Tolle, what's going on?"

"Just tell me!" As the others argued on, the stranger glanced over to the door on the far side of the room and after checking that no one was looking, went over to it only to find it was locked.

"Guys, come on!"

"Tolle! You're choking me!"

"Relax, I won't!"

"Can I help you with something?" a voice asked behind the stranger, who looked to see Ryo watching.

"Um, is Professor Kato here?" the stranger asked, "He…told me to wait here."

"Don't think so," Ryo shrugged, "I guess you'll have to wait a little longer. The stranger shrugged and went back to leaning against the wall while Ryo went back to the others.

"Ryo?" he heard someone ask and looked to see Tiffa looking up at him.

"Huh? Did you need something?"

"….You've been thinking again, haven't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The look on your face, you get it every time you're thinking about something."

"Is it really that easy to tell what I'm doing just by looking at my face?" he asked, "Or are you just good at reading facial expressions?" She smiled at the joke and Ryo couldn't help but smile with her. However, his smile faded quickly as he glanced at his watch, the hour of fate was at hand, it was only a matter of minutes before it all began. As he looked back up, he looked around the room, taking in everything so that I wouldn't forget it all when the colony was nothing more than a memory itself. He watched as Kira sat behind the monitor while Tolle was inside the robotic suit. Moments later, he sighed as the suit went out of control and Kira hastily went to shut it down while Sai and Kuzzey went to help Tolle out of it.

-----------------------------

"It's time," Rau said, glancing at his watch, "Captain!"

"Weigh anchor!" Ades ordered, "Vesalius launch!" The Nazca-classes' powerful engines began to warm up before bursting to life as the Gamow began to move next to it. At the Heliopolis Space Port Control, klaxons began to blare as the ships crossed the border.

"ZAFT ships approaching!"

"Attention approaching ZAFT vessels! Your actions are a direct violation of the treaty between our nations! Please turn about at once!"

"Captain!" an officer exclaimed as another one floated over to him.

"Calm down…and for the love of God, turn that damn alarm off!" the Captain grumbled before taking a headset, "Attention ZAFT ships! You are infringing on our territorial boundaries! Turn around immediately! I repeat, change your course immediately!"

"The ZAFT ships are emitting powerful electromagnetic interference!"

"This is clearly an act of war….a ZAFT invasion…." Meanwhile, on the Vesalius, Rau waited for a few seconds, then raised his right hand and gestured with it. At that moment, the Vesalius' linear catapult activated and before long, three Ginns sped out from the ships and towards the colony.

-----------------------------

"Heliopolis Control! This is Marseille III, requesting status report!"

"I guess they've figured it out," Mu sighed, "That the Earth has developed new Mobile Suits on Heliopolis."

"How can they attack with such certainty..?" the captain wondered, "Damn ZAFT…"

"Notify Archangel!" he barked, "Tell them to load and launch the G Units immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

"Lieutenant Flaga…no matter what happens to the G Units and to Archangel," he said to the young officer, "They must never fall into ZAFT hands, is that clear!"

"Yes sir!" the lieutenant replied, snapping a quick salute, "I'll mobilize 'Zero' at once, sir!"

"Good and this ship goes into combat as well!" the captain nodded as Mu rushed off, "All hands, assume primary battle stations!" Moments later, Mu returned, dressed in a violet and white pilot suit and carrying his helmet.

"What are we up against?"

"Two enemy vessels, one Nazca and a Laurasia," the Captain replied, "We confirmed the launch of Mobile Suits just before the jamming."

"Alright, tell Luke and Gale to standby in their units but don't let them go yet," Mu nodded, "I'm going out there!"

-----------------------------

"Incoming transmission from transport ship Marseille III! ZAFT ships and Mobile Suits approaching!" an officer next to the white ship, the New Model Mobile Assault Ship Archangel, exclaimed, "We have been ordered to load and launch the G Units immediately!"

"Don't get too excited," the Captain replied calmly, "They want us to act first. Let the Heliopolis defense force deal with it."

"Kerosene propellant injection is 80 complete," a technician announced, "The 16th Maintenance Team is starting the transmission of materials." Meanwhile, the captain of the Archangel was being contacted by another officer on the situation.

"I know! If worst comes to worst, then the ship will launch!" Archangel's captain nodded and put the phone down, "Contact Lieutenant Ramius! Tell her to load the G Units right away!"

"Yes sir!" the Ensign Badgiruel, now dressed in her white and black Earth Forces uniform, replied and left hurriedly after a quick salute.

"Prepare to launch Archangel!" the captain continued, "Meanwhile, all free hands proceed to load equipment! Petty Officer Pal, I want you to take over! I'm going out there."

"Huh? Um…yes sir!"

"If we strike near the mines," Rau said calmly aboard the Vesalius as he watched several Mistrals launch from the port, "Then we'll hit them in one strike."

-----------------------------

"To the Archangel! Starting with the G Units!" a woman in a smoky-orange uniform shouted to other people in similar attire. Her brown hair matched her brown eyes almost exactly beneath her cap and as the engines of the vehicles rumbled to life, one of the workers ran up to her.

"Lieutenant Ramius!" he shouted, "According to the technicians, they have not yet completed chassis inspection of the X-303 and the X-105…"

"They can do it later!" Murrue Ramius replied, "The ZAFT are almost upon us!" Meanwhile, deep below, the timers on the charges planted by the ZAFT infiltration team slowly wound down and then clicked to zero.

-----------------------------

"Ryo? Is everything alright?" Tiffa asked, seeing her friend looking distracted.

"I'm fine," Ryo nodded, "It's just that-" At that moment, however, all hell broke loose and spread throughout the colony in a matter of seconds. There was the sound of the explosion that he had been anticipating suddenly rocked the ground as the floor shook from the force. The lights flickered on and off as anything that wasn't secure crashed to the floor. Over the sound of the explosion, I heard screaming and I guessed that it was Miriallia as the lights died completely. The emergency lights flickered on immediately but even so, it was a little hard to see, though I could see the others visibly panicking; even Cagalli looked a little startled.

"What was that? A meteor?" Sai exclaimed.

"It's begun!" Ryo thought and reached into his pocket before pulling out a flashlight, "Calm down, all of you! Shouting isn't going to fix this!"

"What's going on?! What's happening?!"

"Tolle, I'm scared…."

"Oh man, we're screwed! We're all screwed!"

Frustrated, Ryo let his temper get the better of him and shouted, "Will you all shut the hell up and listen to me already?!" Startled, quieted down and looked over as he added in a calmer tone, "Look, I know that you might be scared, but we're not going to get anywhere by sitting around here and shouting like a bunch of idiots. Now, let's just go over to the emergency door and get out of here." They seemed to calm down but deep down, Ryo knew that even if they were to get out of the room, the stranger would be the only one to make it onto a shelter. Shaking the thought aside, however, he quickly found the emergency door and pulled it open to let the others out. The scene beyond it was complete chaos; civilians were already rushing through the metal corridors toward the entrance to the shelter; Ryo could see a few familiar faces among the crowd while the others looked on in shock.

"Don't panic! There's still enough room in the shelter for everyone…"

"What's...going on here?!" Miriallia gasped, staring with wide eyes.

"Hey, what happened?" Tolle asked a passing student, "What's going on outside?"

"I don't know!" the student shrugged as he walked by, "Looks like we're under attack by ZAFT!"

"By ZAFT?!"

"Apparently, Mobile Suits have penetrated into the colony," another said grimly, "That's all I know."

-----------------------------

"Lieutenant Flaga!" the Captain said as the pilot climbed into his Mobile Armor.

"Later, Captain! Launch the ship for now!" Mu replied as he buckled himself in, "The port's under attack! I'm going out too!" Outside, the Mistrals that made up the colony's defense force flew about, shooting at the approaching Ginns. Unfortunately, they were no match for the more agile Mobile Suits and were quickly shot down. Soon, the Marseille III left the port, with two Mobius Units and Mu's orange Mobius Zero leading it out. As they were fighting, however, a team of Ginns slipped into the port and began shooting into the windows, destroying the communications center.

"Mobile Suits have penetrated Area 7!" an officer exclaimed while the Ginns flew overhead. Inside the colony, the ZAFT infiltration team had reassembled on a rocky cliff overlooking the city.

"There they are," Yzak smirked, lowering his binoculars after having spotted the Earth Forces' convoy, "Just like the Commander said…"

"Heh, give them a scare and they'll come out of their holes, eh?" a red-coat with blonde-hair and tan skin, Dearka Elsman, grinned, "Those Naturals sure are stupid…" Moments later, Miguel Aiman received a call through his Ginn's comm. system with the data.

"Looks like they found the treasure…Sector S, Factory Area 37," Miguel nodded and then grinned, "That's Yzak alright…he's a speedy little guy…"

-----------------------------

Back out in space, the battle wasn't getting much better for the Earth Forces. Even with the arrival of the Marseille III's Mobile Armor units, they were still sorely outgunned by the Ginns and the ZAFT's ships, the Vesalius and the Gamow. Only Mu seemed to be able to do any damage at all, using his Mobius Zero's railgun and wired-gunbarrels to damage one of the Ginns. "Gale, no!" Mu called out when he saw one of the Mobius pilots go after the damaged Ginn. Unfortunately, it was too late and Gale realized this only when the Ginn wheeled around after dodging his shots and sliced his Mobius in half with its Ginn Saber, destroying the Mobile Armor.

Inside the colony, the Ginns had made landfall and was wiping out the convoy vehicle by vehicle. While this was going on, the ZAFT infiltration team was joining the battle, descending onto the battle field using the jet packs installed into their life support packs. "Our targets are in those trailers! Ignore everything else!" Yzak ordered, "Destroy anything that you can't carry!" Looking over the convoy, he frowned, "Strange…the report said that there were five of them. Where are the other two?"

"Leave them to Rusty and I, Yzak," the bluenette told him, "Your group can handle these three."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you two," Yzak nodded before turning to the others, "Once we've boarded the Mobile Suits, disarm the self-destruct mechanisms immediately." By the time they hit the ground, all of the assault vehicles had been destroyed and a good portion of the Earth Forces troops had been killed as well; those that remained immediately opened fire on the ZAFT soldiers with their weapons. However, they soon pulled back and one hurried into a trailer, where he was killed by a grenade.

"A ZAFT infiltration team…so, their Mobile Suits were just a diversion..." Murrue muttered, hiding behind the wreckage of a trailer, "They've completely dispersed our forces…" It was then that she got an idea and called out, "Sergeant! Gather all remaining troops! We're retreating to the Morgenroete Factory Block!"

"But…the G Units…"

"If we stay here any longer, we'll all be killed!" Murrue shouted, "Our only hope is to pull out and protect the X-303 and X-105 with our lives!"

-----------------------------

"Why is this happening…?" Miriallia asked for probably the fifth time.

"I have no idea…" Tolle replied, holding her close as the group slowly made their way to the entrance of the shelter. That was when Ryo glanced over and when he saw the stranger constantly glancing around, he realized what was about to happen. At that moment, the stranger suddenly ran off in the opposite direction and Kira followed, shouting something about waiting.

"Take care of Tiffa!" Ryo told the others, pushing her towards them, "I'll catch up with you later!"

"Hold on! Where are you going?!"

"I'll explain later!" Ryo called back as he ran, "I'm counting on you guys for now!"

"Wait!" he heard them shout, "Kira! Ryo! Come back!" Ryo ignored them but mentally wished them good luck as he raced after the other two. By now, Kira had caught up with the stranger and the two appeared to be arguing about something, what it was he couldn't hear. Suddenly, there was another explosion and without a second thought, Ryo leaped and knocked them to the floor to prevent a piece of flying debris from hitting them. When he stood back up, however, he felt a stinging pain across his forehead but he shook it off before glancing at the two.

"You two okay?" he asked them as they got up as well.

"I'm fine," the stranger nodded, "But that's a nasty looking cut you've got there."

"Hm?" Ryo blinked before putting hi hand where his head was hurting. Sure enough, it felt warm and wet and when he removed his hand, he saw that it was covered with blood. "Crap, that doesn't look good."

"You should get that…" Kira started to say but then he noticed that the hat the stranger had been wearing was now gone, revealing the stranger to be…

"You're…a girl?"

"What the hell did you think I was?!" the girl snapped, her amber eyes narrowing beneath shoulder-length blonde hair, "Well? Let's hear it!"

"Well...you see…" Kira stammered but the girl suddenly looked behind him and he looked too before I turned as well to see that the way that we had just come through had completely caved in, "Now we can't go back…"

"It's your own fault for following me…"

"There are other ways to get out of here," I replied, causing the other to look at me with startled expressions, "But first things first, who are you?"

"Cagalli," the blonde replied irritably, "That's all you need to know."

"Well then, nice to meet you, Cagalli. I'm Ryo, and this is Kira," Ryo nodded, gesturing to himself and the brunette, "Anyway, what did you run off for? Did you forget something?"

"Well…" Cagalli began slowly, doubtful of whether or not she should answer his question, "Do you know of the testing site at Block D-13?"

"I think so," Ryo nodded, "Come on, I'll show you." With that, he turned and started down the corridor at a run, glancing back occasionally to make sure the two were following. After a few minutes of running, the lights that were down the corridor were active and it was easier to see where they were going.

"Are you sure this is the right way?!" he heard Cagalli ask impatiently from behind Kira.

"Maybe…" Ryo said a bit sheepishly, "Block Thirteen is usually a restricted area…ah, there it is!" Up ahead was a large metal door made with the number 13 stamped onto it in big, bold numbers.

"Yeah, but without a personnel card or a secret code…" Kira said, "How are we supposed to get inside…?" As if to answer his question, Cagalli went over to a nearby panel and punched in a code before they heard the sound of something behind unlocked. Glancing at each other, Ryo shrugged and pushed the door open, though he had a little trouble with it at first.

"Man, they've really got to oil these hinges more often," he said, hoping to shed a little light on the situation. The other two said nothing as they entered the room and when their eyes had adjusted to the brighter light, their eyes opened in shock when they saw what lay before them. There, lying on the floor below them, were the deactive GAT-X303 Aegis and GAT-X105 Strike, the Mobile Suit that Ryo knew Kira was destined to pilot. At the same time, a vicious gun-fight was occurring with the Earth Forces taking cover behind the Mobile Suits and the ZAFT infiltration team at the door. The Mobile suits were being rolled out slowly and a sudden explosion flared up, blinding them for a moment.

"Ugh…I knew it…the Earth Forces' new Mobile weapons…" Cagalli suddenly said, sinking to her knees, "Father, you've betrayed us all!" Suddenly, a trio of shots rang out and Ryo pulled the two down as bullets pinged off of the railing. Looking back at the battle, Ryo saw a female engineer seated on the Strike's torso with her assault rifle in hand and heard her shout for a pilot to be put aboard the Gundams. It was then that he knew that it the time had come for Kira's destiny to begin and turned to Kira, "Kira, take her to a shelter, I'll be right back."

"Huh? What do you mean?" he blinked, confused.

"I mean that I want you to get her out of here," Ryo replied, gesturing to Cagalli, "Don't worry about me, just go."

"But…"

"Didn't you hear me the first time?! Now go!" With that, he immediately ran off in the direction of the hanger, ignoring Kira's complaints as well as the pounding in his head from the still bleeding cut. "I hope that nothing goes wrong this time," Ryo thought as he finally made it to the hanger, "There's no room for mistakes now, if I screw this up, I'll be responsible for the destruction of two colonies." With that, he jumped into the cockpit of the X Gundam for the first time in nearly a year and prepared to launch. As he started up the O.S., he realized that there wasn't anyone to open the gate and that he would probably have to force his way out. "Oh well," he thought as he transformed the Gundam into Mobile Suit mode, "This colony's gonna go boom anyway, a little more damage shouldn't matter too much."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Yzak and Dearka had boarded two of the Earth Forces' Mobile Suits, the X102 Duel and the X103 Buster. "Hey, not bad," Yzak mused as the Duel gripped its beam rifle and shield before standing up, "How's yours going, Dearka?"

"So far so good…updater activated, nerve link okay, calibration completed," Dearka nodded, "Let's go!"

"Right," Yzak said as the Buster rose up, "Nicol?"

"Just a minute," the last red-coat, a younger boy with curly green hair and hazel eyes, Nicol Amalfi, said as he rapidly typed commands into a keyboard, "Almost done." Moments later, the X207 Blitz stirred and stood up, joining the Duel and Buster.

"What happened to Athrun and Rusty?" Dearka frowned as he looked around, "They're late."

"Eh, they'll be fine," Yzak shrugged, "We'd better get these back to the ship. Don't let them get destroyed before we deliver them to the Commander." At that, he fired up the Duel's powerful thrusters and took off before the Buster and Blitz followed shortly after. At this time, Kira and Cagalli had made their way to the last row of shelters. To their immense relief, they found one that was still open and hurried over to it.

"Hello? Let us in…please!" Kira begged, using a small intercom to contact the people inside the shelter.

"We're already at full capacity!" someone inside replied, "Shelter 37 might still be open, but it's over on the left block! Can you get there?" Looking at the location, Kira saw only smoke and decided that it was time to play the guilt-card.

"Alright, but please, can't you just take one more person!" Kira asked, "A girl!"

"W-what do you think you're doing?!" Cagalli fumed.

"I beg you, let her in!" Kira said, ignoring the question.

"Oh, sorry about that. Please wait a moment." With that, the door of the shelter opened and Kira quickly grabbed Cagalli by the arm.

"C'mon, get inside!"

"What about you?!" Cagalli exclaimed, grabbing onto the doorframe.

"I'll be fine, now go!" Kira said, shoving her inside.

"Wait! Don't…!" Cagalli never got to finish her sentence, for the door closed just as she was telling Kira his mistake.

"…Well, I guess the only place to go is back outside," Kira said to himself and hurried back out.

"Lieutenant Ramius!" he heard and looked back out over the battlefield.

"Hamada, Brian! Hurry up and get those things moving!" Murrue shouted as she hid behind the factory door way, "What happened to the G-Pilots?"

"We lost them…in the last bombardment…all of them, even the reserves…"

"Then I'll pilot one myself! Give me some cover!"

"B-but…the G Units are tricky to operate…even for veteran pilots, they're highly complex…"

"Are you saying that we should just sit back and let the enemy walk off with them?!" Lieutenant Ramius asked, "I'm no pilot, but I'll be damned if I can't kick some butt of a couple of mere foot-soldiers!" With that, she got up and made a dash for the X105 Strike while bullets whizzed past her.

"Look out, behind you!" Alarmed by the second voice, Murrue turned and fired in time to shoot down a ZAFT soldier who had taken up a sniping position before her gun clicked to indicate it was empty. Looking over, she managed to spot a familiar looking figure standing near the railing.

"It's that kid again!" she blinked as she pulled out the magazine before she heard a shot and someone grunt nearby. Drawing her handgun, she wheeled from her position and noticed Brian lying on the ground as she shot a second ZAFT soldier. "You there! Come down!" she called out to the boy, who had ducked behind a piece of machinery.

"I'm on my way to the shelters on the left block!" Kira called back, peeking around the machinery, "Don't worry about me!"

"There's nothing left behind that door!" Murrue told him before an explosion burst from the said corridor, knocking Kira off of his feet. At this point, Kira decided that it would be best to follow her advice and ran to the stairs. "This way!" Murrue called out before looking up and nearly tripped when she saw Kira jump from the railing and land less-than gracefully on the Strike's shoulder. At that moment, Hamada wheeled from behind a container and shot at the remaining ZAFT soldiers, Rusty and the other red-coat. The latter ducked behind the car they were covering behind but Rusty wasn't as lucky and was shot right between the eyes.

"Rusty!" the other red-coat exclaimed as the red-head's shattered visor filled with blood before he leaped out, firing wildly in rage.

"Hamada!" Murrue called out as her comrade was hit but unfortunately, this caught the red-coat's attention and he shot at her as well, hitting her in the arm. As she jerked back in pain, she accidentally hit her head against the Strike's torso and blacked out as Kira rushed over to her to help. The enraged soldier was about to finish her off when he heard a clicking sound from his gun and realized it was jammed. Frustrated, he threw it aside and drew a combat knife from his pouch before leaping onto the Strike's leg, charging in for the kill. Before he could reach them, however Kira suddenly saw a pair of familiar green eyes and blue hair behind the visor before he stood up unsure of what he was seeing.

"Athrun…?" At those words, the ZAFT soldier stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened in surprise as recognition dawned on him.

"…Kira?"

-Phase 01: End.


	3. Its Name: Gundam

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

-----------------------------------------------------------

Phase 02- Its Name: Gundam

_January 25, C.E. 71, Heliopolis, L3 Colony Cluster_

An odd quiet settled in on the burning factory even as explosions went up in every which way around the two teens. "Athrun?" Kira repeated, "Is that…" At that moment, however, Murrue had recovered from her fall and without warning, fired a shot at the red-coat in an attempt to gun him down. Athrun's Coordinator instincts kicked in just in time to make him to jump back and save him from taking the bullet before he ignited the small thrusters on his life-support pack and fled, straight towards the Aegis, which lay nearby. "Wait! Athrun!" Kira called out, though his calls were in vain as he received no response.

"Get on board!" someone behind him said and he turned to see the Murrue standing inside the open cockpit hatch, "Hurry! There might be an after-blast at any moment!"

"Huh?" he blinked, alarmed that she was telling him to board the Mobile Suit but changed his mind when a piece of debris came dangerously close to hitting him in the face, "Uh…y-yes ma'am!" Saying that, he quickly climbed into the cockpit and Murrue sat down in the pilot's seat before closing the hatch. Unknown to the two of them, the Athrun was watching in silence before entering the Aegis' cockpit. Meanwhile, the combat computer of the X-105 Strike flashed to life as the cameras came online to show its two passengers what was going on outside.

"Stay behind my seat!" Murrue instructed, "I'm not much of a pilot, but I should at least be able to get this thing moving." At that moment, a screen on the control module lit up and displayed the welcome message before the name of the O.S. showed up.

"General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver…" Kira read off of the screen, "Gun…dam? But this O.S. is…" What he thought of the Strike's Operating System was suddenly interrupted, however, by the sudden movement of the giant mech as Murrue used the control sticks to slowly move it into a sitting position. One by one, the restraints holding down the Strike's limbs burst off as Murrue pushed a lever forward, activating the Strike's battery. A pair of wires attached to the Mobile Suit's back snapped off as the cockpit rotated to stay upright as the Strike stood up. As it reached its full height, an explosion erupted from a corridor, washing the Strike over with smoke.

-----------------------------

Outside, Luke's Mobius dove around a Ginn only to be shot down from behind. As the space battle continued, the civilians inside the colony were in a state of panic as they rushed to get to the nearest shelters. "A Level 8 evacuation order has been issued," a voice crackled throughout the colony, "All civilians please head to the nearest possible shelter immediately." Meanwhile, Tolle was leading the others through the streets as a nearby Ginn destroyed a supply truck and spotted the smoking Morgenroete Factory. All of a sudden, a massive explosion blew off the building's roof and as ball of fire reached its peak, two shapes flew out from the inside and landed on the ground, revealing them to be the Aegis and Strike.

"Athrun!" Miguel grinned when he saw the machines, "There you are! How'd it go?" Athrun paused a bit, unsure of how to break the news before deciding to tell it in the simplest way possible.

"…Rusty failed…" Athrun said, "That last unit was boarded by a Natural officer."

"What?!" As the GINN pilot tried to figure out what he was saying, the Strike had landed but since its data was still questionable, it stumbled and continued moving forward in a sort of lopping step. Inside, the cockpit, Kira was slightly disturbed by what was happening.

"What's going on?!"

"Well, this unit isn't fully operational yet…." Murrue stated a bit sheepishly, "We were planning on finishing the calibrations later, but…" Meanwhile, Miguel had found watching the Lieutenant trying to keep the Strike Gundam steady rather amusing.

"Hmph, having a hard time moving around, aren't you?" he smirked, taking a shot at the Strike as it weaved around, "Athrun, take your unit and withdraw at once, I'll take care of this wannabe pilot and capture that unit."

"But…"

"That's an order, Athrun! Or have you forgotten the mission?" Miguel said, more aggressively this time. Athrun was silent for a moment before he flipped down the keyboard and started typing.

"Kira…" he thought, frowning a bit, "No, it can't be…" Meanwhile, Miguel had drawn his Ginn's Saber and taken a swing at the Strike, forcing Murrue to activate the Strike's thrusters to dodge. As it landed, however, the jolt of the impact caused the cockpit to shake violently and Kira found himself thrown across the seat.

"Get back!" Murrue exclaimed, flushing a bit when she realized where Kira's head had landed, "Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"S-Sorry!" Kira stammered and got back up but not before seeing the Ginn headed straight for them. As he cried out, Murrue grunted in frustration and hit a button on the dashboard, causing the Strike's armor to change color just in time to intercept a powerful attack from the Ginn's Saber with its arms.

"What?!" Miguel cried out in surprise, "What the hell is this?!"

"This Mobile Suit…" Kira muttered as Murrue grimaced from the pain in her wound.

"These units must have Phase Shift Armor," Athrun told Miguel as he drew back, "Once it's activated, the Ginn's Saber won't do much against it." At that, he activated the Aegis' own crimson Phase Shift Armor before turning to face a pair of missiles that were fired at it. Locking on, the two 75mm anti-air vulcan "Igelstellung" guns on the sides of its head fired, destroying them before the Aegis turned to destroy a missile truck with them.

"That's real nice, now get out of here!" Miguel ordered, "Stop sticking around!" Athrun paused for a moment before igniting the Aegis' thrusters and taking off. Kira and Murrue watched it go before the Strike's radar reacted to the Ginn charging them. In response, Murrue fired the Strike's Igelstellung guns but most of the shots at best glanced the Ginn's armor.

"You can't beat me!" Miguel laughed, "Not with that kind of aim!"

"The calibration's off!" Kira thought, looking at the monitor.

"Doesn't matter how good your armor is!" Miguel shouted, slamming the Strike into a building with a horizontal slash, "Not if you keep moving like that." Down below, Kira's friends had emerged from another full building, still looking for a shelter.

"Oh man! All the shelters here are full too!" Kuzzey wailed as they made it outside.

"Hey, let's not lose hope," Sai frowned, "Maybe the next block has some…" At that moment, Miriallia screamed and they turned to see the Strike rising up from the building.

"It's still not over yet?!" Tolle exclaimed as they turned and started running in the opposite direction.

"But…" Tiffa said, "Why are those Mobile Suits fighting each other?"

"You honestly think you can fly a Mobile Suit like that?!" Miguel shouted as he went in for the kill, "You're in way over your head, Natural!" By now, the group had stopped running and watched as the Strike took two steps back in their direction. Miguel's Ginn drew its saber back and thrust it forward, intent on impaling the Strike through its cockpit. Then, in an almost trance-like state, Kira reached forward and hit a button on the dashboard, causing the Strike to kneel down and the saber scraped its shoulder armor harmlessly. Then, he pushed a lever forward so that the Strike moved and shoulder-charged the Ginn, knocking it back.

"What?!" Miguel exclaimed as he struggled to get the Ginn standing again, "What was that?"

"There are still people down there! You're the one piloting this thing, so do something about it!" Kira muttered as he accessed the Strike's schematics, "Ugh, this won't do. It's impossible to operate a machine of this caliber with this kind of an O.S." A moment later, he said, "Please, move aside! Hurry!" Still dumbstruck, Murrue nodded and moved behind the seat so that Kira could get in. As he began to attack the keyboard, Murrue watched in amazement at the speed that his fingers were moving at.

"This kid…" she thought, "Is he…?" Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as Miguel righted himself again and charged, intent on landing a decent blow. Kira noticed this and stopped working long enough to fire the Strike's Igelstellung guns and this time, each shot hit its mark.

"What?!" Miguel exclaimed before pulling up and going for a slash. Kira had the Strike step back to avoid the blow before moving in to smash the Strike's fist into the Ginn's "face", hurling it into an adjacent building. "Gotta calibrate the zero moment point…" Kira muttered as he resumed his work, "And reconfigure the CPG…dammit…" As the startled lieutenant watched in awe, Kira proceeded to completely rewrite the Strike Gundam's Operating System in a matter of seconds. "Link the control module to the Artificial Cortex Molecular Ion Pump…then reformat the Neural Linkage Network...retrieving results from the Beta Movement parameters…field control restarted, input commands. Deviations corrected…movement routines connected. System online. Movement structure activated…"

-----------------------------

"Just a little more," Ryo thought, aiming the X's beam rifle at a spot above him and then pulled the trigger. Having boarded his own machine, Ryo had decided that since there was no other way out, he would have to make his own exit. An explosion flared up where the blast hit it and he thought for a moment before activating the X's thrusters and taking towards the hole. Unfortunately, he had misjudged the hole's size and it ended up being too small and he nearly got the Gundam stuck inside it. "Hmm, I guess I didn't make a big enough hole," Ryo frowned, "Oh well, back to work..." With that in mind, he fired again and again until the hole was of sufficient size to fit the Mobile Suit through with ease. Once he felt that it was big enough that, he gunned the thrusters again and the X Gundam flew straight the hole and into the open.

"Jeez, what a mess," Ryo sighed, looking around, "And it hasn't even been an hour yet." A good number of buildings that Ryo had known were now reduced to smoldering debris and smoke was rising up everywhere, thicker clouds indicating something had been destroyed recently. His search ended when he saw a blue and white Mobile Suit throwing a Ginn into a building with a punch and he grinned to himself, "Yup…that's Kira alright…" Moving the X behind a building, he watched from there, waiting for the right moment to act.

-----------------------------

"What's with this guy?!" Miguel fumed as he got his Ginn standing, "Now he's moving better than before!" Irritated, he put the Ginn's saber away before taking its assault rifle out, shooting bursts at the Strike. The first few hit the Strike and caused it to wobble a bit but Kira soon found the thrusters and used them to take to the air, forcing Miguel to follow.

"Weapons…" Kira muttered, accessing the Strike's combat computer only to find the Igelstellungs and a pair of Armor Schneider knives in its hip-armor, "Armor Schneider and that's it?! Come on!" Saying that, he hit a switch and the sides of the Strike's hip armor opened up and ejected the two blades as the combat computer automatically made the Strike grasp one in each hand. "Sai, Tolle, Kuzzey, all of you!" Kira called down to the others, who were still at the battle site, using the Strike's speaker system, "Get out of here now!"

"Kira!" Miriallia exclaimed in surprise as their eyes widened, "Is Kira seriously on board that thing?" Meanwhile, in the cockpit of Miguel's GINN, the pilot was seething from frustration at the progress of the battle. He was losing, and badly; somehow, the pilot's skill had improved by nearly tenfold in an impossible amount of time.

"My Ginn's Saber and Rifles are useless against Phase Shift Armor!" he thought angrily, putting the Ginn's assault rifle away and drawing its saber, "But it's we Coordinators who are the chosen few!" "There's no way that I can lose…" he shouted, charging again, "…to a mere Natural!" With that, he slammed his foot onto the pedal on the floor and the GINN leaped into the air with its sword raised. As Strike Gundam prepared to counter-attack, however, a beam of pinkish energy flew out of no where and sliced right through the Ginn's left stabilizer "wing" and arm joint, severing them both clean off of the main body. Alarmed, the two units looked to see a third Mobile Suit emerge from the buildings, which looked slightly similar to the Strike in terms of shape and color, except a lot more white and blue was visible. Attached to its back were two wings that were position in a three o'clock angle with a large cannon attached to the back. In its right hand was a smoking beam rifle and its green eye-pieces glowed menacingly. "What the- another unit?!" Miguel exclaimed, "Just how many of these things are there?!" Inside the Strike Gundam's cockpit, Kira and Lieutenant Ramius were equally surprised by the sudden appearance of this new Mobile Suit that had just shot off the enemy Ginn's stabilizer.

"Odd, I could've swear that there were only five G-Units," Murrue thought, frowning at the new Mobile Suit, "I didn't know that there was a sixth. What matters now is whether it's on our side because I doubt even this kid can stand up to it if its pilot has such a high level of accuracy." Kira himself was wondering whether the newcomer was a friend or foe when something happened that alarmed him even more. A new screen appeared on the main view screen and what startled him the most was that it was coming from the new Mobile Suit, and that it was Ryo's face that was staring at him.

"Ryo!"

"Yes, Kira it's me, nice to see that you remember," Ryo's face grinned on the screen, "Nice Mobile Suit you've got there, is it the same one from the factory?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't see the one that you're in there. Where did you get it?"

"This thing? It's mine...well, sort of."

"You mean you _stole_ it?!" Kira exclaimed.

"Of course not, jeez! You know that I'm not a thief!"

"Then…"

"I'll explain later, Kira," Ryo replied, "But right now, we've got other things to worry about…like taking out this GINN that just happens to be caught between us. Race you for it."

"What?"

"First guy to him gets him! _GO!_" With that, the wings on Ryo's Mobile Suit transformed into an "X" shape as its thrusters ignited and sped towards the GINN. Without warning, it used the butt of its weapon as a club to smack the GINN towards Strike Gundam, causing it to lose its balance.

"Not here!" Kira shouted, "Our friends are still below us!" Without thinking, he pushed the control sticks forward and Strike Gundam lunged towards the incoming GINN, raising the knives before slamming one of them into the Ginn's right shoulder joint and the other into its neck.

"I-impossible!" Miguel exclaimed as static filled his view screens and sparks flew from the controls, "Such agility…!" At that moment, the screens in his cockpit went dead and he found that the controls weren't responding either. "Dammit, hydraulics aren't responding…" he muttered, "And the movement-system's stalled too…" With that, he removed his safety harness and reached for his side, pulling up a lever. A moment later, the Ginn's cockpit hatch blew off and Miguel could be seen fleeing using his life support pack.

"Get away from the GINN!" Murrue suddenly shouted at Kira and as Kira looked at her in confusion, the already heavily damaged GINN self-detonated in a ball of fire, causing the Strike Gundam's cockpit to shake violently because of the shockwave. The force was so strong that Murrue ended up falling over and hitting her head again, blacking out as the shockwaves subsided.

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In a deserted shaft, Natarle Badgiruel was startled into consciousness when she felt something bump into her from the front and back. Opening her eyes, her vision slowly focused enough to let her see that she was floating in a shaft and that the artificial gravity had failed, causing her to drift into the ceiling with a dead engineer sprawled across her. Grimacing a bit at the sight, she looked around to see that there was no one else alive in the shaft as she drifted back towards the floor. All at once, she remembered what had happened and she quickly looked around. "The ship…" she muttered, pushing off of corpse to float down a hallway, "Where's the Archangel?" Out in space, the Marseille III had taken a hit to her engines, sending her hurtling towards the colony wall.

"We've lost control!" the pilot exclaimed as the colony loomed in the bridge's view screen.

"Lieutenant Flaga! The rest is up to you…!" That was the last thing that Mu heard from his superior before the Marseille III collided with the colony, its nose crumpling inward before it went up in flames.

"Captain!" he called out in before focusing on another Ginn, "Dammit…is there nothing that we can do about the difference in our fighting strengths?!" Deploying his gunbarrels, he circled the Ginn and destroyed its assault rifle before blowing off its right arm.

"Aurora's unit is in critical condition! Fire prevention team to Deck-B!"

"Even Aurora's been beaten?" Ades frowned on the Vesalius, "In a battle like this?"

"It would seem that there's a disturbance out there," Rau mused, "A rather annoying fly buzzing around in the midst of the battle."

"There's a communication beacon coming in from Miguel Aiman. It's an emergency!"

"Well now…if the situation has gotten to the point where even Miguel has abandoned his unit," Rau said, getting up from his seat, "That's all the more reason why we cannot let it go on any further." Meanwhile, Natarle was busy searching for not only the Archangel but also any other officers that might have survived the explosion.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" she called out. Only silence answered her as a battered Earth Forces uniform cap drifted by and she quickly recognized it as the Captains. "Dammit…" Natarle swore through clenched teeth, "Is there anyone here who's alive?!" All of a sudden, she heard a pounding sound behind her and she turned to see a door fly off of the wall before someone shined a light on her.

"Ensign Badgiruel!" she heard and she looked to see that it was none other than Arnold Neumann in the doorway. Back outside, the Vesalius had fired its signal flares to tell the Ginns to retreat and as they did, Mu watched them go with suspicion.

"They're retreating?" he frowned as a sudden tingling sensation tugged at the base of his skull, "But…there's still something…wait, is that…?" Off in the distance, he could see a streak of light approaching him and upon closer inspection, he realized that the object was something that looked like a white, heavily modified GINN, a ZGMF-515 CGUE."

"Can you sense me coming?" Rau asked at the CGUE's controls, "Can you feel my presence like I can yours?" A grin spread across his face as he added, "A rather tragic twist of fate, wouldn't you say…Mu la Flaga?"

-----------------------------

"Well, glad that's over," Ryo said to himself as he descended from the X's cockpit via the zip-line, "At least we won't have to worry about damaging more stuff for a little bit…"

"Ryo!" he heard someone call out to him and he looked to see the others waving to him, "You okay?"

"I'm good!" Ryo called back as he walked towards them, "I guess you guys couldn't find a shelter, huh?"

"Nope," Tolle sighed, "What happened to you head?"

"I'm fine, it's just a cut," Ryo shrugged, "I'll patch it up later." Just then, he heard a grunt and saw Murrue and Kira nearby and said to the latter, "Hey, nice move back there, Kira."

"Ryo," Kira said, "That Mobile Suit, how did you…"

"It's a long, long story, Kira," Ryo sighed, glancing slightly at Tiffa, "I'll tell you later if we have time." Just then, Murrue grunted again as she tried to sit up and Kira quickly pushed her back down on to the picnic table they were using as a bed.

"You'd better not move for now," Kira told her, "You'll aggravate your wound."

"Here," Miriallia said, taking a bottle out from her bag, "I have some water."

"Thanks," Murrue nodded and Kira helped her sit up before she took it with her good arm.

"Whoa! This thing is awesome!" Tolle exclaimed and they looked to see him sitting inside the Strike's cockpit.

"Well can you get it to move or not?" Kuzzey asked, standing just outside of the hatch.

"Hey, guys!" Sai called out, "Stop messing around with that!" Tolle scowled but climbed out of the cockpit anyway as Kuzzey looked over the Strike.

"How come it's grey again?" he asked.

"I dunno," Tolle shrugged, "Maybe it's because it's off or something."

"Get down from there!" Murrue suddenly shouted and without warning, a shot rang out and the bullet pinged off of the Strike's armor, startling everyone.

"Hey! Stop that!" Kira exclaimed as Murrue approached the Strike with her handgun drawn, "They carried you down while you were unconscious!" All of a sudden, Kira found himself staring down the barrel of the gun and he blinked before backing away slowly.

"Look, I appreciate you kids helping me…but that Mobile Suit is a top secret weapon of the Earth Forces," Murrue said, "It's not something that civilians should be messing around with."

"Huh? But wasn't Kira piloting it?" Tolle asked but stopped talking when the gun was pointed at him.

"Over there, line up," Murrue told them, gesturing with her hand gun.

"Wait a second," Kira replied, "Why…"

"You too!" she said to him and Kira had no choice but to oblige, since the she was armed. Soon, all six of them were standing in a line like prisoners about to be executed by a firing squad, except there was only one gunner. "Now then," she continued with an exasperated sigh, "I know that this may seem a little harsh but right now, we're in a very difficult and dangerous situation. ZAFT has captured four of five new Mobile Suits that were developed here on this colony by the Earth Forces. I don't know how they found out about it but now that you've been exposed to this secret, I'm afraid that you will all have to remain with me until I can get you to the proper authorities. I'm very sorry, but this is the way that it has to go, I can't risk having you tell anyone about this."

"But we won't…"

"Shut it, Kuzzey," Ryo growled from the corner of his mouth, "If you don't want things to get worse than they already are, then I suggest that you keep quiet." Saying that, he changed my tone of voice as he faced the Lieutenant; if they were going to get along, fighting wasn't going to do much to help. "Well, I'm okay with the whole staying here thing but if we're going to do that, I think that we're going to have to actually know each other first," He said to the her, "My name's Ryo Mouri. Pleased to be your acquaintance, Ms….."

"Lieutenant Murrue Ramius from the Earth Forces," she replied, putting her weapon back into its holster, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you as well. Could I have your names, please?"

"I'm Sai Argyle."

"Tolle Koenig."

"My name's Miriallia Haw."

"Kuzzey Buskirk."

"Kira Yamato." Tiffa gave me a nervous glance and I nodded at her before she stated her name as well.

"T-Tiffa Adil," she stammered, saying the name that I had given her.

"Very well, then," Murrue nodded, "Again, I apologize for any inconveniences but this is the only way to ensure utmost secrecy."

"But we're civilians!" Sai argued, "We're neutral! We don't have anything to do with the army or anything like that!"

"Yeah!" Tolle frowned, "Why are the Earth Forces even in Heliopolis? I bet they have something to do with-" Tolle was suddenly cut off as Murrue fired two shots into the air to silence them.

"Enough! You kids don't get anything!" Murrue said, "Saying that you're not involved just because you're neutral…you can't seriously believe that! The reality is that you've all seen a top secret of the Earth Forces military here."

"That's not right…"

"Regardless of whether it's right or not, we're at war!" Murrue told them, "Between the PLANT and the Earth. Between Coordinators and Naturals. It's just the way things are." After a pause, she sighed and lowered her gun as she added, "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid that there's just no way you can leave. If it were up to me, I would let you go but given the situation, I don't have any other choice."

"It's alright, I guess," Miriallia sighed, "We couldn't find any open shelters anyway, at least we've got a place to stay."

"Yeah, but it's not that safe…"

"I don't think that's what she meant, Tolle," Ryo interrupted and that was enough for him to understand what he was hinting at.

"By the way, Kira," Tolle said to him, "What happened to that other person who you ran after back there?"

"She's fine; I managed to get her into a shelter before it filled up," Kira assured him.

"She?" As Kira tried to explain the whole deal with Cagalli, the atmosphere around the group had calmed to an extent and everyone was catching up on the events. Murrue, however, was having a chat with Ryo, as she recognized his name.

"You say that your last name is Mouri?"

"That's correct."

"You wouldn't happen to know of an Oliver Mouri, would you?" she asked and at that, Ryo slightly cringed inside, "The representative of the Junius City cluster in PLANT?"

"…Yes…I do…." Ryo answered slowly, "Oliver Mouri is…_was_ my father…."

"Really?" she asked with an interested tone, "I hear that he's…"

"He was," Ryo interrupted, "He passed away about a year ago."

"Oh," she said, a bit taken back, "I'm…sorry to hear that…"

"It's alright," Ryo nodded, glad that she hadn't asked how he had died, "I've taken it fairly well…."

-----------------------------.

Out in space, Rau's CGUE was hiding behind a support beam as Mu's Mobius Zero glided along, the latter's eyes shifting about warily. All of a sudden, he looked to see the CGUE wheel out from its hiding place and fire at him with its assault rifle and he hastily stepped on the accelerator as the Mobius Zero sped out of the way. "Dammit!" he swore, "Is that you, Rau Le Creuset?!" As the two pilots prepared to clash, Lieutenant Flaga's radar picked up something approaching rapidly from the colony itself.

"Another ship!" he thought, "Reinforcements? Wait, that's….the _X-303_!" Sure enough, the approaching object was none other than the stolen GAT-X303 Aegis, with Athrun at the controls. As the unit flew by, it approached Rau's Mobile Suit as if to assist it.

"Commander Creuset, we've lost Rusty!" Athrun exclaimed, "Miguel stayed behind and is now engaged in battle against an enemy Mobile Suit!"

"I'm aware of that, Athrun. Return to the ship immediately," Rau calmly nodded, "I'll go and help Miguel myself."

"Yes sir," Athrun replied and as he flew off, he glanced back at the colony one more time before heading to the Vesalius. As Rau attempted to head for the colony, however, Mu's Mobius Zero appeared and fired its railgun at him to drive him back.

"You always seem to be getting in my way, Mu La Flaga!" Rau growled angrily as he dodged the shots from the Mobius Zero's gunbarrels, "Though I'd imagine that you would say the same for me!" With that, he turned and flew into the open gate as Mu reconnected the gunbarrels to his Mobile Armor.

"Damn! He's gone into the colony!" Mu growled and flew after the CGUE, intent on catching it. Deep within the colony's interior, Natarle and Neumann had made it to the Archangel, which was still miraculously intact.

"The few who managed were either on board the ship or far away at the time of the explosion," Neumann explained on the bridge, "Most of them are factory workers."

"What's the situation?" Natarle asked, "What about the ZAFT forces?"

"We don't know," Neumann replied, "We already have our hands full with surveying our surroundings." As he said this, Natarle went over to the control panel and hit a switch to start a damage assessment, with the results being satisfactory.

"Just what I expected from the Archangel," Natarle managed to smile, "She wouldn't be sunk by a few explosions."

"But we haven't even cleared away the debris blocking the gate," Neumann reminded her, "We don't have anyway out." Natarle nodded her understand and tried to open up a communication channel but found that the signal was bad.

"Ugh, the lines are still jammed," she frowned, "It must've been a diversion, then…ZAFT's real target must have been Morgenroete!" Having figured it out, she swore, "Damn! What's going on in the city? What happened to the G? We can't do anything from here!" As she despaired, she was startled when a voice suddenly crackled over the radio.

"This is…105 Strike…Earth Forces…respond…"

"Hey," Neumann blinked, "There's someone there!" What Neumann didn't know was that it was actually Kira calling them from the Strike after Murrue requested that he try to make contact with any Allied units.

"This is X-105 Strike! Earth Forces, please respond!" Kira said into the headset, "Earth Forces, please respond!" After receiving nothing but static for the fifth time, he sighed and took the headset off before climbing out of the Strike. Moments later, Sai drove up in an undamaged trailer before coming out and going over to them.

"It was the one labeled Number 5, right?" he asked, gesturing to the trailer.

"That's the one," Murrue nodded, "Thanks."

"So what now?" Sai asked, "Is there anything else we can do?"

"Get the Striker Pack ready," Murrue said, "After that, could you try communications again, Kira?"

"Right," Kira nodded and headed back to the Strike. Meanwhile, Rau and Mu had gone deep into the port to fight and currently, Rau had looped around a wall to put it between himself and Mu. Finding an opening, he fired the CGUE's assault rifle and Mu had to quickly veer aside to dodge.

"Dammit!" Mu swore as he retaliated with the Zero's railgun but then lost the CGUE when it disappeared behind the wall, "I hate fighting in tight spaces!"

"Heh…I'd be satisfied if I could end you here…" Rau grinned before his face grew grim, "Mu!" With that, he aimed and fired, scoring a direct hit on the Mobius Zero's gunbarrels. Realizing the danger, Mu quickly ejected them before they exploded and flew off with Rau close behind.

-----------------------------

"Are you sure about this?" Neumann asked nervously, "Launching a ship this size would be impossible with the amount of people we have."

"If you have so much time to complain about it," Natarle frowned from the Captain's seat, "Then why don't you use some of it to think about our next move? Morgenroete might still be under attack and you're saying that we should just stay here and forget about them?!"

"I've brought the officers you requested," a voice said behind them and Natarle turned to see Jackie Tonomura behind her with Petty Officer Dalida Lolaha Chandra and Petty Officer Romero Pal behind him.

"Take your stations, everyone," Natarle ordered, "Just follow the computer's instructions."

"Yes ma'am."

"There are still ZAFT ships outside," Neumann said, "We can't possibly fight them off."

"I know that!" Natarle snapped, "Get the Lohengrin cannons ready to fire when we launch and we'll blast our way out into the colony's interior. Can you do that, CPO Neumann?"

"I suppose," Neumann nodded and sat down in the pilot's seat.

"Right. Starting launch sequence," Natarle said, "Given the current situation, omit processes C-30 through L-21. Main power online."

"Output rising," Neumann said, "No anomolies."

"450 seconds until recommended value," Tonomura said from the co-pilot seat.

"That'll take too long," Natarle frowned, "What's the condition of the conduit with Heliopolis?"

"It's still working."

"Good, draw power from there," Natarle said, "Conduit online, connect the power to the accumulator."

"Connection confirmed, we have a normal flow," Tonomura said, "Twenty seconds until recommended value. Life support systems starting up, no anomalies."

"CIC online," Chandra said from communications, "Weapon system online. FCS, contact."

"Magnetic chamber and pellet dispenser…" Neumann paused, "Idling and stable."

"Internal inertial dampeners, holding at maximum levels," Chandra announced.

"Main power, contact. Engines, no anomalies," Neumann said, "All Archangel systems are online. Ready to launch!"

"Close all airlocks," Natarle ordered, "Warn the crew about concussive damage to the ship's hull during the breakthrough. Advance with caution. Archangel, launch!" Moments later, the Archangel's thrusters began to warm up and then activated on low power, slowly moving the ship forward as the leg-like extensions in front opened to reveal its two Lohengrin positron blaster cannons. As the ship eased its way through the debris, the duel between Mu and Rau was becoming increasingly one-sided as Rau destroyed Mu's last gunbarrel and left him with only the Mobius Zero's railgun. Meanwhile, Kira had moved the Strike so that it was kneeling facing away from the trailer as it opened, revealing its green Launcher Striker pack.

"Which one is the power pack?!" he called out to Murrue, who was watching from a distance.

"The weapons and the power pack go together!" Murrue replied, "Just load them as they are!"

"The evacuation alarm still hasn't stopped yet," Miriallia sighed as she looked around.

"Wonder if our parents took shelter yet…" Sai muttered as he worked on removing the locks on the Striker Pack.

"Man…I just want to go home…" Kuzzey said before an explosion caught their attention. Looking up, they saw a ball of fire blossom from another section of the colony before two objects emerged from them.

"What are those things?" Tolle asked.

"I'm not sure," Ryo said, squinting to get a better look, "I think it's…." His eyes widened as he realized what it was, "It's a Mobile Suit! A white GINN!" "Dammit, Ryo, it's a Mobile CGUE, you moron!" he thought as he ran towards the X Gundam, "Get your Mobile Suits right!" As Ryo closed the hatch and powered up the systems, he saw Kira hurrying to get the Striker Pack attached and ready. "Kira, don't worry about it," Ryo told him as he activated the X's Phase Shift Armor, "I'll try and hold this new guy off while you get that on." With that, he gunned the thrusters and took off to intercept the incoming Mobile CGUE, drawing the X's oversized beam saber as he did.

Inside the CGUE, Rau noticed the approaching Mobile Suit and then saw another one still on the ground. "Strange," he thought, "The report said that there were only five Mobile Suits, it seems that it left one of them out." Just then, a burst of gun fire from behind him drew his attention and he saw that Lieutenant Flaga's Mobile Armor was still tailing him, despite the fact that it was damaged from the previous battle. "So, you're still putting up a fight," Rau smirked, "Even with your Mobile Armor in such pitiful condition…" With those words, he suddenly stopped the Mobile Suit in midair, causing Mobius Zero to fly right past it.

"What!" Mu exclaimed in surprise as Rau opened fire on the weakened craft, damaging it even further. Just then, a hail of bullets hit the Mobile CGUE; Rau looked to see the other Mobile Suit quickly approaching with a quad-barreled Igelstellung gun positioned over its shoulder and wielding an oversized beam saber. Smirking, Rau drew his Mobile CGUE's Heavy Sword and flew forward to confront it. Once in range of one another, the two units swung their weapons at each other, both trying to land a blow on their opponent first and beat him.

"Hmm, you're pretty good, for an amateur," Rau smirked.

"Yeah?! Well you're not too bad for a psychopath yourself!" Ryo shouted and Rau was slightly surprised to hear his voice. As the two Mobile Suits flew by, the wind whipped up and caused the students to panic and Murrue got up and hurried over to the Strike.

"Get that power pack online!" she shouted at Kira, "Hurry!" By now, Rau had managed to shake off the new Mobile Suit and went after Mu, drawing his CGUE's heavy sword. Mu noticed this and pulled up just as Rau swung, cleaving the Zero's railgun in two. As Mu flew off, he continued on towards the prone Strike, which was still loading its pack.

"Now I'll take care of you!" he declared as the Launcher Striker pack snapped into place. By now, however, Kira had restored power to the Mobile Suit and activated the Strike's Phase Shift Armor before having it stand up. Back inside the port, the Archangel had almost reached the blocked gates and Natarle was relaying a few final orders.

"Once we fire the Lohengrins, accelerate to maximum battle velocity," Natarle said, "We're going to come out swinging!" Moments later, the two Lohengrin cannons charged and then unleashed twin anti-matter positron beams at the gate, blowing it to pieces. Outside, the explosion showed itself and drew the attention of the combatants to it as a large, oddly-shaped battleship emerged from the smoke and flames.

-Phase 02: End.


	4. Collapsing Land

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 03- Collapsing Land

_January 25, C.E. 71, Heliopolis, L3 Colony Cluster_

Startled as he was by the appearance of the ship, Rau quickly focused back on the Strike, which had just stood up. He soon realize, however, that shooting would do no good as he watched his shots explode harmlessly off of the Strike's armor.

"A ship?" Mu blinked as he watched the white ship fly from the hillside, "It was inside the colony?"

"That ship!" Murrue exclaimed, "It's the Archangel! It survived!"

"We've successfully exited the port area," Neumann announced on the Archangel's bridge, "Now entering the colony interior."

"The Morgenroete factory has sustained heavy damage. The Strike is currently active with another unknown unit," Tonomura said, "No…they're engaged in combat against the ZAFT Mobile Suit!" By now, however, Rau had regained interest in the Archangel and was now heading towards it, a fact that quickly registered to Natarle.

"Evasive maneuvers!" she ordered, "Hard to starboard!" Neumann quickly twisted the steering to the right and the Archangel lurched in the same direction, dodging the shots that Rau's CGUE threw at it. Seeing that engaging a ship on his own was useless, Rau ejected the clip on his CGUE's assault rifle and put a fresh one in before returning to the Strike.

"So, these units have Phase Shift Armor, huh?" Rau mused, "Then how about this?"

"Hit the dirt!" Murrue exclaimed when she saw the CGUE coming and she quickly ran for cover with the other students as Rau started shooting. Seeing this, Kira quickly maneuvered the Strike so that it was kneeling in the CGUE's line of fire before the bullets pinged off of its Phase Shift Armor.

"Hmm…not even an advanced APS variant can damage it…" Rau thought, "Not bad…" Suddenly, a blur of white appeared in front of him as the X maneuvered around his CGUE, saber in hand.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Ryo shouted and swung, only to have Rau dodge and fly off.

"Prepare to fire stern missile launchers! Load tubes 7 through 10 and target the enemy Mobile Suit! Activate laser guidance!" Natarle ordered and then added to Pal, "Listen, even if you make a mistake, whatever you do, don't hit the shaft or the ground." Pal nodded as two of the Archangel's rear missile launchers opened and deployed a pair of missiles each, targeting the CGUE as it was pursued by the X. "Fire!" At her command, the missiles were launched from the tubes and shot towards the CGUE. Seeing this, Rau quickly pulled back and shot down two of the missiles before maneuvering around the colony's shaft, causing the other two to hit it. Moments later, one of the cables snapped and a piece of the shaft shifted dangerously, causing Ryo to stop and back off as Rau moved aside as well.

"No way…" Kira frowned before flipping the targeting visor in the cockpit over his eyes. Carefully, he deployed the 320mm "Agni" impulse cannon attached to the Launcher Striker pack and took aim as the CGUE battled the X and avoided shots from the Archangel's Igelstellung guns at the same time.

"Wait!" Murrue called out to him when she saw what he was doing, "That's too-" At that moment, she was cut off as Kira fired the Agni, sending a powerful beam of energy up into the sky. Startled, Rau had only enough time to maneuver out of the way before the blast tore off his CGUE's right arm before continuing. Moments later, a fireball flared up on the adjacent colony wall as the blast carved its way through the exterior. Such was the shock of the combatants that Rau took this opportunity to turn his CGUE around and escape, cursing his luck.

"Allowing a single Mobile Suit that much firepower…" Rau muttered, "The Earth Forces must be more desperate than I thought…"

"The enemy Mobile Suit is retreating," Chandra announced, "No additional enemies detected on the radar."

"Match the rotational speed of the colony and bring the ship down," Natarle said, exhaling a brief sigh of relief, "Watch out for the gravity." Meanwhile, outside the colony, the Vesailus' technical crew was hard at work extracting the data from the captured X-303 Aegis that was now docked in its Mobile Suit hangar. Assisting in the procedure was none other than Athrun but even as he typed, his thoughts would occasionally drift back to his encounter with Kira.

"5th Programming team on standby. Interface online, database active. Virus protection shield has been loaded successfully. Data phase, 300 milliseconds until contact. 2nd Team, be on the lookout for a power cut, 4th Team to follow…" Athrun was suddenly startled by a beeping sound coming from the console in front of the Aegis and several exclamations coming from the technical crew he was helping.

"Sorry about that!" Athrun hastily apologized, "Did I tamper with what you were doing?"

"No, it's fine," the technician replied, "We've already finished the exterior inspection and power charge. How's yours coming along?"

"I'm done too," Athrun said, storing the keyboard away, "But honestly, how can they use this kind of O.S. with these things?" All of a sudden, a klaxon began to sound and Athrun knew that it was because a unit was returning from battle.

"Commander Creuset's Mobile Suit has returned and has sustained damage," a technician announced over the speakers as Athrun climbed out of the Aegis' cockpit, "All fire fighters and repair squads please report to Deck B immediately." As if on cue, the airlock opened and Rau's CGUE came flying in backwards, using its thrusters to slow down before the safety net caught it and stretched to its full extent to bring the Mobile Suit to a stop.

"The arm of the Commander's Mobile Suit!"

"No way…"

"Begin removing the armor!"

"But…" Athrun thought as jets of pressurized steam were sprayed on the CGUE to cool it, "If it was him…"

-----------------------------

By the time the X and Strike Gundams had been safely docked inside the Archangel's hangar, the Mobius Zero was also landing on the main deck on top of the ship. In the hangar, the Strike and X were kneeling let the others onto the floor, as they had been carried by the Mobile Suits into the ship. "Lieutenant Ramius!" a voice called out as Kuzzey stepped off of the Strike's hand and everyone turned to see the Archangel's crew rushing towards them, along with a few other officers glad to see Murrue in one piece.

"Ensign Badgiruel!" Murrue replied, sounding equally relieved.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Natarle sighed, snapping a quick salute, which Murrue returned.

"And you as well. Good job handling the Archangel," Murrue nodded, "We were save thanks to you." Just then, the cockpits of the Strike and X opened and as the Archangel's crew looked over, Kira and Ryo climbed out and descended via zip-line, surprising a good majority of them.

"Wait a minute, what's going on here?" Kojiro Murdoch, the chief mechanic, blinked, "Are you telling me those kids were the ones in there?"

"Lieutenant Ramius," Natarle asked, "What's this all about?" Murrue was about to reply when another voice interrupted her.

"Wow…that's pretty extraordinary," the voice said from behind them and everyone turned to see another officer in a violet pilot suit approaching them.

"And you are..?" Murrue asked.

"Earth Forces 7th Orbital Fleet, Lieutenant Mu la Flaga," he replied, snapping a quick salute, "At your service!"

"Oh…I'm with Earth Forces Sector 2, 5th Special Division," she said, returning the salute "Lieutenant Murrue Ramius."

"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel" Ensign Badgiruel," Natarle added, saluting as well, "Same division."

"Nice to meet you all," Mu nodded, putting his hand down, "I'd like to request permission to land onboard this ship. Who's in charge here?"

"The Captain and all other superior officers were killed during the bombardment," Natarle sighed, "I believe Lieutenant Ramius is the ranking officer here at the moment." She added as Murrue turned in surprise, "The only officers who survived were the ones on board or far enough from the explosion. I was fortunate enough to have been in the shaft."

"The Captain…" Murrue muttered, "That…"

"Oh boy…what now?" Mu sighed, "Anyway, please grant me permission to stay onboard, Lieutenant Ramius. The ship that I was on was shot down during the battle, so…"

"Oh, right," Murrue nodded, "Permission granted."

"What about them?" Mu asked, gesturing to the students.

"Well, as you can see, they're all just civilians that happened to be unable to find a shelter," Murrue said but then gestured to Kira and Ryo as she added, "One of them was somehow in the factory's vicinity during the attack, so I allowed him into the G. I believe his name is Kira Yamato."

"What about the other one?"

"He appeared at a later time in the other unit," Murrue explained, "And thanks to their efforts, we were able to fight off a Ginn and protect the remaining G as well."

"Th-those two kids fought off a Ginn…?" Natarle exclaimed as murmurs of surprise swept through the small crowd.

"Well, I'm here because I was escorting the G pilots," Mu said, "Where are they now?"

"The explosion occurred while they were greeting the Captain upon their arrival in the Command Booth," Natarle told him, "As a result, they were also lost during the attack."

"I see," Mu sighed before looking up and approaching Kira and Ryo, a few other officers following him.

"What?" Kira blinked, "What is it?"

"You two…" he began, "You're both Coordinators, aren't you?" There was a long, very awkward silence that followed the question in which the two glanced at each other a bit uneasily until Kira finally decided to break the ice.

"…..Yes…" he replied and I gave a nod to show my own confirmation. There was another silence that followed, except this one was broken by several murmurs from the crew.

-----------------------------

"I'm certainly glad that Miguel managed to bring this back with him," Rau commented as he watched a video of the Strike and X in action along with Ades, Athrun, Miguel, and two other officers, Olor and Matthew, "It wouldn't have mattered how many excuses I gave…I would have become the laughing stock of the ZAFT army for having my machine damaged in battle against Earth Alliance Mobile Suits." Having said that, he turned to the others and said, "Specific data is still being analyzed but in point of fact, the enemy Mobile Suits have destroyed Miguel's Ginn."

"A couple of Naturals beat Miguel…?" Olor asked quizzically while Matthew stared in surprise.

"It couldn't have been Kira…?" Athrun thought, frowning a bit.

"You all know what the original O.S. was like. However, I'm still uncertain why only those two units could move so well," Rau continued, "However, there is no way that we can let Mobile Suits that powerful get away. If you can't capture it, then destroy it! Along with that new battleship of theirs! This time, there will be no embarrassment."

"Yes sir!"

"All hands assume battle stations!" Captain Ades ordered, "Miguel and Olor, prepare to launch at once! Authorization granted on the use of D-Equipment! This time, get rid of them for good."

"Yes sir!"

"Captain Ades!" Athrun suddenly said as the two left, "Let me join in on the attack too, please!"

"But you don't have a Mobile Suit to pilot," Rau replied calmly, though a bit surprised,

"Besides, you already completed your crucial mission of capturing the new model."

"Let this one go, Athrun Zala," the Captain said, "Olor and Miguel are itching for action just as much as you are. You won't be able to take away their frustrations so easily."

"…Yes sir…" Athrun nodded as he thought, "Kira…"

-----------------------------

"Coordinators…"

"They're with ZAFT…?" This went on for a few minutes or so, with Ryo's temper slightly getting the better of him when Tolle's suddenly beat out his.

"Stop looking at them like that!" he shouted in frustration, "They may be Coordinators, but they're not on their side! They're with us!" At that moment, however, several soldiers whipped out their weapons and pointed them at the two Coordinators. Ryo was only slightly disturbed but this was a major shock to the others.

"Leave them alone!" Miriallia cried out angrily as they formed a circle around Kira, Tiffa, and Ryo, "It was Kira and Ryo who fought to defend us from the ZAFT Mobile Suits!" Kira and Tiffa seemed surprised by their actions, even Ryo was touched by the fact that they were willing to stand in front of possible weapons fire to protect them.

"Stand back! Leave this one to us!" Sai said to us with a frown, never taking his eyes off of the gunmen.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Kuzzey asked with a grin, "Plus, we all owe the two of you one."

"Lower your weapons!" Lieutenant Ramius suddenly said, "They're not the enemy!"

"Lieutenant Ramius?"

"Don't look so shocked," Murrue replied with a small smile as the soldiers put their guns down, "It's not so surprising that some Coordinators may have moved here to avoid the war. Isn't that right, you two?" The last question was directed to Kira and Ryo and the latter suddenly felt a bit uneasy at the question.

"Yes…well, for me that is," Kira nodded, "The truth is…I'm a First Generation Coordinator."

"First Generation?"

"So, your parents were Naturals?" Mu asked.

"Yeah."

"What about you, Ryo?" the Lieutenant asked, "Did you come to Heliopolis for the same reason?"

"I…" Ryo began but suddenly found his words stuck in his throat for some reason and refused to come out. He knew that he couldn't tell them that he was from Junius 7 because and risk complicating the issue further but luckily for him, Tiffa seemed to realize the same thing and stepped up before speaking for him..

"We both came here…to get away from the conflict like Kira did," she said a bit timidly, "I'm….also a Coordinator." This was a surprise to just about everyone but Ryo. Kira and the others had always known that Tiffa was unusually smart and wise for her age but they had never once suspected that the shy girl was actually a Coordinator. Ryo, of course, had known this the whole time, having met her on Junius Seven, but neither of them had never said a word of it to anyone.

"Enough already!" Tolle suddenly shouted, "Let us off this ship!"

"I told you already that we can't do that," Murrue replied, "Until the proper arrangements can be made, you'll all have to stay with us!"

"…Oh boy…" Mu sighed as Tolle and Kuzzey started to complain almost immediately before turning, "Well, sorry for causing a big fuss in here for showing up. I just needed to know…"

"Lieutenant Flaga?"

"You know, when I was on my way here," Mu said, glancing up at the Strike and X, "I watched quite a few simulations done by the original pilots and I have to say, they were having a lot of difficulty doing even simple movements." He paused for a moment before shrugging, "Oh well."

"Lieutenant!" Natarle called out as Mu started to walk away, "Where are you going?"

"Where am I going? I landed here because my unit was damaged," Mu replied, "Creuset's forces are still outside, the annoying prick. I don't think we've got a lot of time to be hanging around here." Meanwhile, the Creuset Team was preparing for their second raid of the colony, this time sending in Ginns with especially heavy weaponry.

"Hurry up! It's container number six!

"Loading D's on GINN!"

"Commencing the mission! Units 001 and 002 will be using the D's. Matthew's unit, move to the standby zone!"

"Did you hear that, Yzak?" Dearka asked with a small grin, "They're loading up the D's." The three red-coats had retreated to the observation deck to watch the Ginns move out, since their part of the mission was over. Dearka and Yzak were particularly excited about it but Nicol was having his doubts about the usage of heavy weapons.

"Heh, now that's something that I want to see," the fair-head chuckled, "Is the Commander planning to storm a fortress or something?"

"But with that kind of weaponry, the colony will…"

"They're getting what they deserve, Nicol," Dearka said impatiently, cutting the green-haired pilot off.

"Yeah, it serves them right," Yzak sneered, "Pretending that they were neutral, while all along producing new Mobile Weapons for the Earth Alliance!" As the three watched, the Archangel was undergoing its own preparations for the attack. Trailers containing valuable supplies drove up into the storage bay while empty ones moved out to gather them as technicians scrambled about to get everything ready.

"There's no way we can get water from Morgenroete!" Pal exclaimed arguing with a pair of technicians, "The replacement parts and ammunition are most important! Hurry up!"

"Mr. Murdoch, sir! We need you over here!" Even as this was going on, the students had taken to one of the sleeping quarters that were supposed to have been used by the original crew. At the moment, Kira was sleeping in one of the top bunks while the others discussed the recent happenings.

"It's amazing that he can sleep after everything that's happened," Kuzzey remarked, glancing up at Kira, "I know I wouldn't be able to."

"Well, he's tired," Miriallia told him, "Things have been pretty hard for him."

"Well Ryo was out there too," Kuzzey said, "And I don't see him taking a nap."

"That's because I have better stamina than this guy," Ryo replied, jerking his thumb at his friend, "He gets tired after playing basketball, remember?"

"I guess things have been hard," Kuzzey nodded, "But, even then…"

"What are you getting at, Kuzzey?" Sai asked.

"Nothing, really," Kuzzey shrugged, "I was just wondering if that kind of thing was hard for Kira. I mean, he did say he rewrote the O.S. for that thing…but when was that?"

"When?"

"I don't think Kira's ever had any experience with this sort of thing," Kuzzey said, "But if that's so, then how did he know to rewrite the O.S.? And when did he do it?" After a pause, he added, "I've always known that Kira was a Coordinator…that he had his genes modified before he was born. For him, it probably would have just been a minor inconvenience. Then again, all of ZAFT is like that. Do you think that…the Earth Forces can really win against those kinds of people?"

"Well, we won't know until we get there," Ryo told him, "And that's not gonna be for a while from the way this war is going." At this time, Murrue, Natarle, and Mu were meeting on the bridge to discuss the current issues, namely what to do with the students.

"Well, the evacuation of the colony is almost done," Murrue told the other two after putting down the phone in her armrest, "But due to the recent battle, the Alert Level has been raised to 9"

"And that means that that all of the shelters are on lock-down," Mu sighed, "So what are we gonna do with those kids now? We can't just find a place for them to stay and leave them there."

"They've seen a military secret," Natarle explained, "So Lieutenant Ramius is watching them for now. We can't just release them."

"So they're coming with us when we break out?" Mu asked, "But once we get out of here, we're gonna be caught in a huge battle."

"We'll probably need the power of the Strike and X once we're out there," Murrue said.

"Are you advising that we use them in actual combat again?" Natarle asked.

"Well, if we don't, then we probably won't be able to leave, right?" Murrue shrugged.

"Do those two know that?"

"Actually," Natarle interrupted, "I think it would be a better idea if we let Lieutenant Flaga pilot one this time…"

"Come on, don't be ridiculous!" Mu interjected, "You think I can figure out how to operate those things?"

"Eh?"

"Have you seen the new O.S. that kid rewrote for the Strike?" he asked, "No ordinary human could fly that thing. And there's no telling what the O.S. for the X looks like."

"I suppose you're right…" Murrue frowned, "Kira and Ryo are the only ones who can handle those two Mobile Suits."

"Are you mad?!" Natarle exclaimed, "There's no way that we can allow a pair of citizens, let alone Coordinator children, pilot the G's! The G Units are Top Military Secrets! Why can't we just have him delete the changes?"

"If the G's and this ship are destroyed, there won't be any secrets left to protect…" Mu said, "We'll be sitting ducks without them."

"Lieutenant Flaga!"

"But look at how they handled them earlier," he continued, "Not that I expect them to say 'aye aye, sir' and just jump onboard or something like that…"

"I'll…convince them!" Murrue said firmly and then there was an awkward silence.

"While we're at it," Mu sighed after a bit, "I need to get something straight. I could have sworn that there were five G's, but the ZAFT took four of them. How come we still have two?"

"Come to think of it," Natarle frowned, "I've heard rumors that about a year ago, the ZAFT began construction of a new Mobile Suit in the PLANT. I'm not sure if they finished building it or not but all I know is that it was stopped after the Bloody Valentine Tragedy."

"…"

-----------------------------

Outside, the Vesalius and Gamow were almost done launching their Ginns, each one equipped with a pair of heavy missile launchers or a M69 "Barros" heavy ion cannon. "Olor's unit, launch complete. Miguel's unit, proceed to catapult."

"Launching Olor's unit!"

"Okay, that's the last one. Close the hatch!" the maintenance officer shouted as the Ginn departed but at that moment, the locks on the X-303 Aegis detached before the unit moved past him towards the catapult, "Huh? This one's going out too? I didn't hear anything about that!"

"I have to find out…" Athrun thought as he sat at the Aegis' controls, "Was it really Kira in one of those Mobile Suits…?" With that, he stepped on the accelerator and the Aegis was launched from the Vesalius, its charging cord snapping off as it did.

"Captain Ades! Athrun Zala has just launched the captured Mobile Suit!"

"What? Call him back at once!"

"Let him go," Rau suddenly said calmly, "Its data has already been extracted. And aren't you curious to see what happens when two Earth Alliance Mobile Suits clash?" At this time, the Ginns had already made their way into the colony and their presence was immediately detected by the Archangel.

"There's electromagnetic interference all over the colony!" Chandra warned, "Density of N-Jammers increasing!"

"What?"

"Tsch, looks like they aren't gonna give us the luxury of going out to fight!" Mu said sardonically, "Those bastards!"

"Are they planning on fighting inside the colony again?" Natarle frowned.

"Well, they know that if they do, then they'll have the advantage," Mu shrugged, "We can't really shoot at them while they can fire away all they want." Meanwhile, Murrue had gone down to where the students were to talk to Kira and Ryo. Unfortunately for her, though, she was having a bit of difficulty convincing the former to listen.

"I'm not interested!" Kira argued, "We don't want to be dragged into you're war any further!**"**

"Kira…"

"What you're saying is true, that the outside world is at war," Kira frowned, "But we don't want any part of that! We hate fighting! That's why we chose to live in neutral territory! And yet…"

"Lieutenant Ramius! Please return to the bridge at once!" a voice shouted over the loudspeakers, "Lieutenant Ramius!"

"What is it?" Murrue asked after going over to the speaker, "What's going on?"

"Mobile Suits have entered the colony!" Mu's voice said over the speakers, "Hurry up here and take command! You're the Captain now!"

"Me?"

"Even though I have experience, I don't know the first thing about this ship," Mu told her, "It'd be better if you did it."

"Very well then, prepare the Archangel for liftoff," Murrue sighed, "All hands assume Level 1 Battle Stations. What about your Mobile Armor, Lieutenant?"

"No good," Mu said, "It's still out of commission."

"Alright," Murrue nodded, "I'll leave the CIC to you, then." Cutting the link, she said to the students, "Well, it's as you heard, the ship will be entering combat again. I'm afraid that now that the shelters are at Level Nine, I can't allow you to leave the ship. All we can hope now is that we can escape from the colony and make it to safety."

"Tolle…"

"E-everything will be alright…" Tolle said nervously, trying to shed some light on the situation. Ryo, knowing that it was a lost cause, shrugged and started down the hallway towards the hangar.

"You people…" Kira suddenly frowned, clenching his fist, "Aren't being fair!"

"Kira…"

"There's only the two Mobile Suits left on the ship, right? And Ryo and I are the only ones who can pilot them!" Kira said darkly, "Fine, I'll pilot the Strike! But not because you told me to! I'm doing this to protect the things that are dear to me!"

"Then you might want to drop the drama and get moving," Ryo said to him, "If we're going to launch before the ZAFT get here, we'll need to get to the Mobile Suit bay as soon as we can."

"What do you mean 'we'?"

"If you're going out to fight, then I'm going with you," Ryo grinned, "You'll need someone to watch your back out there." Minutes later, the Archangel's engines blazed to life and the ship began to rise as stray boxes were blown away by the thrust.

"Escaping from the colony is our top priority!" Murrue said, now sitting in the Captain's seat, "Remember to take care not to damage the colony while the battle is taking place."

"But that's impossible…" Tonomura frowned from the CIC. Meanwhile, the Strike and X Gundams were preparing to sortie in the hangar. While the X moved to its launch catapult, the Strike was inside a different one that contained the rest of its Striker Packs.

"Open up Container 3!" Murdoch ordered as the Strike moved under the container, "That's where the Sword Striker equipment is!" Moments later, hatches opened up around the Strike and mechanical arms placed a backpack-like attachment to the Strike's back as a piece of shoulder armor and a small shield were attached to the left arm. The Sword Striker's main weapon, the giant 15.78m "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword was attached to the right side of the backpack.

"Should we really let a couple of Coordinators pilot those things?" one technician asked as he gazed at the two Mobile Suits.

"Stop your grumbling and get back to work!" Murdoch shouted, startling the technician back into his senses.

"Sword Strike, an energy weapon mode for close range combat," Kira read aloud off of the view screen in front of him, "See also Aile Strike and Launcher Strike…well, at least this should prevent me from damaging the colony again."

"How about it, kid?" the chief technician asked as he appeared on a small view screen,

"Figure it out yet?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good," he said and then added, "Listen, I don't know what the other guys are saying but I respect your courage. Whether you're a Coordinator or a Natural makes no difference to me, so good luck and go and get 'em!"

"Thanks, I will!" Kira smiled and activated the Strike's Phase Shift armor. All of a sudden, the Archangel's radar reacted to an approaching object and Tonomura quickly got to work identifying it.

"Incoming heat source. Thermal patterns indicate…" he paused, "It's a Ginn!"

"What are they thinking?" Mu gaped when he saw the heavy missiles the Ginn was carrying, "It's got weapons for taking down fortresses!" At that moment, an explosion appeared from the adjacent colony wall and three more Ginns appeared.

"Explosion in the Tannenbaum District! Three Ginns approaching the breach in the wall!"

"Launch the Strike and X now!"

"Additional contact!" Tonomura announced as a third Mobile Suit flew inside, "It's…it's X303! The Aegis!"

"I can't believe…that they would bring it into combat so soon," Murrue said as the rest of the crew expressed their disbelief.

"It's an enemy craft now!" Mu replied, "We've got to treat it as such!"

"What's going on with Strike and X?" Natarle shouted irritably, "Kira Yamato! Ryo Mouri!"

"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam! Launching!"

"Ryo Mouri, launching X Gundam!" At this, the powerful magnets lining the Archangel's linear catapults activated, pushing the two Mobile Suits along the floor and propelling them out of the ship. Meanwhile, the Ginn team had regrouped and was now close enough to see the hovering Archangel.

"Surface-to-air defense! Employ laser targeting! Ready Korinthos missiles and Igelstellung guns!" Natarle ordered, "But watch out for the main shaft and the colony walls!" All eight of the Archangel's topside 75 mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS guns pointed up at the approaching Mobile Suits and immediately let loose a barrage of fire at them. Unfortunately, the targets easily dodged the attack and came closer.

"Live ammunition won't work against Phase Shift Armor!" Murrue said, "Main cannons, acquire targeting from the lasers! Multiple lock! Focus the fusion on them!" At her command, two hatches on the top of the Archangel's "legs" opened up and deployed both of the ship's 225cm "Gottfried Mk.71" dual high-energy beam cannons. Both guns tilted up as they aimed before unleashing light green beams of focused energy at the incoming Mobile Suits, which they also dodged.

"Is that it? The new battleship?"

"Olor and Matthew, circle around and attack the ship!" Miguel ordered, "Athrun, show us what you're made of for tagging along!"

"Right…" Athrun muttered, watching the Strike and X approach them. Inside the Archangel, the other students were sitting in the room when Tolle suddenly came running in with news.

"Guys!" he called out, "You can see what's going on outside from the monitor in the mess hall!" As they hurried to get a view of what was happening, Kira had drawn the Strike's anti-ship sword and Ryo had noticed the three Ginns heading for the Archangel.

"Kira, I'll let you deal with the Ginn with the rifle!" Ryo said, "I'll handle the three attacking the Archangel!"

"Right!"

"What a sloppy attack," Matthew smirked as he dodged Igelstellung rounds, "I'll get closer and destroy the bridge in one shot!"

"Mobile Suit approaching rapidly!"

"Get out of its way!" Murrue shouted.

"Too late!" Matthew laughed, preparing to fire his missiles. At that moment, a beam of pinkish energy flew out from no where and punctured the Ginn's armor easily, causing it to explode in a ball of fire.

"Matthew!"

"Don't think that you're getting to Archangel that easily!" Ryo shouted, aiming X Gundam's Beam Rifle at another target, "You'll have to get through me first!"

"What's that?" Olor thought then shouted, "You guys, stay out of this! This one's mine! Die!" As he moved to engage the X, the last GINN was still flying around, avoiding Igelstellung fire, some of which hit the shaft.

"Hold fire in front!" Murrue shouted, "We're hitting the shaft!"

"If we don't fire, we'll be destroyed!" Natarle argued, "They're not holding back out of concern for the colony!" While that was going on, Kira and Miguel had started fighting, with the latter intent on revenge.

"Die! Damn you!" Miguel shouted as he fired his Ginn's heavy ion cannon. As Kira moved aside, the shot went on and hit one of the shaft's support cables and caused it to snap, sending the bottom half crashing into the ground. Momentarily distract, Kira was snapped back to his senses when a second shot narrowly missed him, destroying a house down below instead.

"If I keep on running, the colony will just keep getting more and more damaged," Kira muttered, "What should I do?" With that, he raised the Strike's left arm and blocked the next shot with his shield, causing a brief explosion to flare up.

"Got it!" Miguel declared with a smirk but his glee was short-lived, for the Sword Strike Gundam came flying out of the smoke with its thrusters blazing and its anti-ship sword poised to strike. Even though he was surprised by the appearance of the Strike, Miguel still managed to dodge a swing from the weapon before taking another shot. Back at the Archangel, Ryo was trying to fight off Olor while preventing the other Ginn from getting too close to the ship at the same time. Out from the corner of his vision, he saw the other Ginn fire its leg-mounted M66 "Canis" short-range guided missile launchers. Two rounds were shot down by the Igelstellung guns but the third managed to hit the ship, shaking the bridge.

"The 4th Armory Bank has been hit!" Chandra warned, "The barracks next to it are being sealed off!" As he said this, the same Ginn had maneuvered around and had fired its heavy missiles, intent on sinking the ship.

"Take countermeasures!" Natarle ordered.

"There's no time!"

"Alright!" Mu frowned, "Give the fire controls to me in manual mode!"

"Port, 40 degrees!" Murrue ordered, "Get us out of the way!" The ship lurched to the left as the missiles streaked past it, narrowly missing the ship and detonating instead, on the colony's interior. Inside the shelters, the emergency lights suddenly turned on as a voice spoke over the speakers.

"The Alert Level has been raised to 10," the announcer said, "There is a possibility that this shelter may be used as a lifeboat. Everyone please remain calm." Outside, Kira was still locked in battle against Miguel, dodging the latter's shots and swinging at his Ginn with the Strike's anti-ship sword.

"Dammit! How can he be so fast?" Miguel swore as the Strike dodged several more shots, "Get behind him, Athrun!" Responding to his comrade's order, Athrun gunned the Aegis' thrusters and chased after the Strike, whose pilot noticed the new Mobile Suit following him.

"That Mobile Suit…" Kira blinked, "Is that…"

"Kira…" Athrun frowned, "Is it really you?"

"I've got you now!" Miguel shouted as the Aegis flew by, temporarily distracting Kira. Kira, however, was able to dodge in time and as he ascended, he drew the Strike's "Midas Messer" beam boomerang and tossed it at Miguel's Ginn. The latter managed to dodge it and was about to say something smart before the weapon came back around and cut off the legs of his Mobile Suit.

"What?!" Miguel exclaimed, surprised by the move. As he struggled to maintain control, Kira flew the Strike over to the damaged Ginn and with one swing, cut it in half through the waist with its sword.

"Miguel!" Athrun cried out as the Ginn exploded, taking his senior officer and friend with it. At about that moment, the Archangel locked onto Olor's Ginn and Mu fired the port Gottfried at the Mobile Suit, destroying it. At the same time, however, the blast went on and grazed the colony's shaft.

"Oh shit!" Mu swore as the shaft crackled and started to shake.

"Olor!" the last Ginn pilot shouted, "Dammit!"

"The colony won't be able to sustain any more damage!" Murrue exclaimed.

"Then what are we supposed to do!" Natarle frowned, "Sit here and let them shoot us down?" Saying that, she contacted Kira, "Strike! What are you doing? We're under attack by the enemy!"

"Athrun!" the Ginn pilot called out, "What are you doing, Athrun?" As Kira moved the Strike's anti-ship sword into a defensive position, the Aegis flew over to him and opened up a comm. link with him.

"Kira! Kira Yamato!" Athrun called out, "So it is you…isn't it, Kira?" At that moment, Ryo had chased down the last Ginn and severed its legs from its body. Seconds later, the Archangel's starboard Gottfried fired and split the Ginn in half just as its pilot pulled the trigger. The result was that the Ginn's missiles fired as the Mobile Suit itself went up in a fireball and the projectiles slammed into the critically weakened shaft, causing it to finally give and fall apart. As the others watched in shock, Kira and Athrun were too busy talking to notice the events happening around them.

"Athrun? Athrun Zala?" Kira replied, surprised, "Athrun…what are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here, inside that thing?" Athrun asked but before Kira could answer, the colony began to split apart completely and interrupted them. Buildings began sinking into the ground as paved roads were ripped to pieces by the vacuum that was continuously drawing anything that wasn't stationary out into space.

"An Administrative Dismissal Command has been put into effect," the announcer said over the shelter's speakers, "The shelter will now be purged as a lifeboat. All passengers are reminded to remain seated during the procedure."

"Commander!" Captain Ades exclaimed as he watched the colony appear to disintegrate, "Heliopolis is…!"

"Hmm…" Rau frowned, watching otherwise emotionlessly. As the colony drifted apart, the vacuum overpowered the thrusters of the three Mobile Suits and pulled them out into space, the Strike and X going one way and the Aegis in another.

"The colony is falling apart! Strike, X, and Aegis are all missing!"

"Engines, full power ahead! Keep her steady!" Murrue shouted as the ship rocked in the midst of the chaos. All that anyone could do at that point was watch helplessly as the colony was finally reduced to floating debris, consumed by the spreading flames of war.

-Phase 03: End.


	5. Silent Run

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

-----------------------------------------------------------

Phase 04- Silent Run

_January 25, C.E. 71, Heliopolis Debris Field, L3 Colony Cluster_

"Man," Ryo sighed as he maneuvered the X over to where the Sword Strike was floating amongst the debris, "I knew it was gonna be bad but…" Inside, Kira stared at the scene around him in shock. All his life, he had never imagined that he would ever be seeing his home broken into pieces and floating around eerily in space, nor had he imagined that he would be experiencing the process first hand.

"Heliopolis…is gone…why…?" Kira muttered wide-eyed, "Mom…dad…are you guys okay?"

"Hey, you alright in there, Kira?" Ryo asked over the speakers, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, I'm fine," Kira replied shakily, "It's just that…"

"_kzzrkkk_X105 Strike…" the radio suddenly buzzed, "X Gundam…_krrk_please respond!..._kzzrkkk_…Kira Yamato…Ryo Mouri…_kzzrkkk_"

"Can you hear us, Kira Yamato?" Ensign Badgiruel asked as her face appeared on a view screen, "Ryo Mouri, do you copy? Are the G's damaged?"

"Loud and clear, Ensign," Ryo said, "And no, everything's working just fine out here."

"Good, then return to the ship at once," she nodded, "Do you know the Archangel's location?"

"Kira and I should be able to find it on our own," Ryo replied with a nod, "We'll see you then." With that, he cut the transmission and beckoned Kira to follow him before hitting the thrusters. As they flew towards the Archangel, however, the Strike's radar acted up and Kira turned to see a red blip in the distance. Zooming in on the image, he saw that it was actually a life pod that had apparently broken down while ejecting.

"Ryo, that life pod's sending out a distress signal, I think we should bring it aboard the ship."

"I dunno, Kira, I've got a feeling that our lives will be a lot easier if we left it out here for a rescue squad to pick up."

"That pod's damaged, Ryo! We shouldn't risk letting the people inside run out of oxygen! We have to bring that pod with us!"

"Fine, suit yourself," Ryo shrugged before the two of them flew over to the pod and grabbed it before heading back to the Archangel. On the ship, klaxons were still blaring as refugees who had taken shelter on the ship watched the scene on the monitors.

"To think…" Mu muttered as he watched from the bridge, "That it was so fragile…" He paused a bit before changing the subject, "So, what are we going to do now, Lieutenant Ramius?"

"Right now, we're still in the midst of a battle," Murrue replied before turning to Pal, "What are the ZAFT up to right now?"

"It's impossible to tell," Pal said, "All the debris is still radiating heat, they're messing with the radar and thermo-detection systems."

"Well, at least there's some good in that," Mu shrugged, "If we can't detect them, they're probably having the same problem too. Do you think they'll try to pursue us anyway?"

"We should get moving, just in case they do," Murrue told him, "However, we won't stand a chance if they catch up to us."

"I hear ya'. All we have to defend ourselves with now are those two G's and my Zero, which is still out of commission. It'll be a tough fight, even for this ship," Mu sighed before asking, "Do you think we can shake them off at full speed? I heard that this ship has some pretty powerful engines."

"I doubt that it will work," Murrue replied, shaking her head, "Even the Archangel won't be able to outrun that Nazca-class."

"Well then, I guess our only other option left is to just surrender," Mu joked and received a strange look from Murrue before adding, "Just kidding. Actually, there is another way…"

"What?! Who authorized that?!" Natarle suddenly exclaimed, cutting Mu off.

"What's going on, Ensign Badgiruel?" Murrue asked.

"Strike and X Gundam have returned but they've brought a life pod with them. Apparently, they rescued it after it broke down."

"Mrs. Badgiruel, please!" Kira's voice suddenly said, "The propulsion unit is damaged! There are refugees onboard!"

"We're in the middle of a battle, Kira Yamato!" she replied, "We can't take any civilians in at this time!"

"Are you suggesting that we just send them right back into space, Ensign?" Mu suddenly asked.

"Of course not!" Natarle frowned, "I'm just saying that we should leave them there for a rescue crew to pick up!"

"That's exactly what I told Kira!" Ryo's voice cut in, "But noooo, he had to be his stubborn self and insist on it anyway! I was all for leaving it alone, but…."

"Enough!" Murrue interrupted, "It's alright, I grant them permission."

"Captain!"

"I don't want to waste time quarreling over trivialities!" she replied firmly and Natarle fell silent, although she had a dark look on her face, "Let the Strike and X in. Tell the Deck Crew to help get the pod open."

"Understood, Captain."

"As for our situation," she continued, "I know that the odds are against us, but we won't surrender no matter what the outcome. There is no way that we can hand over the Strike, X, or the ship to ZAFT. We have to bring all of them back to the Atlantic Federation lunar base at all costs."

"In that case, we should dock with Artemis first," Natarle suggested.

"Artemis?" Murrue blinked, "The Eurasian Federation base?"

"Right," Natarle nodded and pointed to a map, which showed all possible routes, "It's the closest allied position from where we are now."

"But the ship and the G's don't have IFF Transponders," Murrue reminded her, "Are you sure the Eurasian Federation will let us in?"

"I know that the Archangel and the G's are top secret weapons developed by the Atlantic Federation," Natarle said, "However, if we continue towards the moon, we'll most likely get locked into combat again. We were only able to load ammunition and spare parts before we launched, so we're still in need of supplies."

"I know," Murrue sighed, "It's just…"

"I'm sure they'll understand our situation," Natarle assured her, "What we need to do is get to Artemis without being detected by the ZAFT forces and then try to contact the lunar base after we restock; I think that's the best plan for our current situation."

"Artemis, huh?" Mu smiled, sitting down in the co-pilot's seat, "Do you think it will work?"

"I'm not sure," Murrue replied, "But right now, it's the only plan we have." Meanwhile, the Strike and X had successfully returned to the hangar and some of the technicians were currently helping the refugees out of the pod while others went about with their normal duties.

"Commence maintenance on the Strike and X immediately! They may have to launch again at any moment!"

"Nice work, you two!" Murdoch said to the two Coordinators as they climbed out of our cockpits, "That was quite a show that you put on back there."

"Thanks," Ryo shrugged, "I guess." Meanwhile, Kira was watching as the passengers disembarked from the life pod that they had just brought aboard and Ryo turned to do the same just as a familiar looking girl stuck her head out. Naturally, Kira was surprised but Ryo groaned in exasperation instead as he thought to himself, "Great, just what we needed…a red-headed pain in the ass." At that moment, Birdee stuck his head out of Kira's shirt and upon spotting the girl, flew out and towards her.

"Hey!" Kira called out and went after it, prompting Ryo to follow. The girl heard the commotion and looked over to where the sound was coming from, instantly recognizing the two.

"Hey! I know you two!" she exclaimed happily as she pushed off from the pod and went towards them, "Your Sai's friends, right?"

"Um…yeah," Ryo replied slowly, raising an eyebrow. She seemed happy and pulled both of them into a hug.

"F-Flay? Flay Alster?" Kira stammered as he blushed, "I…I never thought you'd be in that pod…" Ryo rolled his eyes when he saw this and pulled away, letting Flay hold onto Kira.

"Where's Heliopolis?" she asked, "What's going on?" When neither of them answered, she continued, "I…I was at Flora's with Jess and Misha but then when the alarm sounded, I ran into the shelter by myself…then…"

"Flay…"

"I felt so lonely!" she cried and then threw her arms around Kira's waist, causing him to blush again.

"Ugh…" Ryo thought, making a face, "He's hopeless…"

"This…this is a ZAFT ship, isn't it?" Flay suddenly asked in a panicked tone, "What's gonna happen to us? What are you doing here?"

"Don't worry, Flay," Kira smiled, "This is an Earth Forces ship. We're safe here."

"What?" Flay blinked and looked over at the deactive Strike and X, "But then, why are there Mobile Suits here?"

"Well, those belong to the Earth Forces too," Kira told her as Birdee circled the two.

"Correction," Ryo interrupted, "The Strike belongs to the Earth Forces. That other one is mine."

"Huh…?"

"Never mind, you wouldn't get it," Ryo sighed, waving it off, "Sai and Miriallia are here too. Let's go meet up with them."

-----------------------------

"How could it have all come down to this?" Captain Ades sighed, "What do you make of this, Commander? Destroying a neutral colony…even the Council will-"

"My dear Ades…how quickly you've forgotten that Heliopolis helped develop the new Mobile Weapons for the Earth Alliance," Rau interrupted calmly, "I believe that can hardly be defined as neutral. Besides, a good majority of the civilians were able to escape, so the only casualties were our own. There shouldn't be much of a problem." Rau turned to look at the Captain and added, "In fact, if you want to compare to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy…" He trailed off when he saw that Ades was looking stern and instead asked another officer, "Have we found the Legged Ship yet?"

"In our current situation, no."

"Are you still going to chase after them?" Ades asked, "We've lost all of our Ginns."

"Ah, but we still have a few, don't we?" Rau replied, "The ones that the Earth Forces were only so kind to leave out for us."

"Do you plan on actually using them?" Ades frowned, "Sir, I don't think-"

"We have already extracted their data. I could care less if they are destroyed, so why not give them a try?" Rau shrugged and floated over to a display, "Get me a map of the area and tell the Gamow to expand its scanning range for the enemy ship." As this was going on, Athrun wandered the halls of the Vesalius, still in his pilot suit. He stopped by a window and glanced out, recalling the battle from before.

"Kira…" he sighed, "

-----------------------------

"I can't believe that Heliopolis is gone…"

"I know, I never thought that ZAFT would do something like that," Tolle nodded, "And I never would have suspected that ORB was building Mobile Suits here for the Earth Alliance."

"Yeah, I always thought ORB was neutral," Sai agreed.

"Tiffa? Is something wrong?" Miriallia asked the younger girl, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," she replied, "I'm…just a bit worried about Ryo and Kira. They were outside the ship when the colony fell apart, after all."

"I know what you mean," Tolle nodded, "But I wouldn't be too worried about them. After all, they _are_ Coordinators and they're in Mobile Suits. I'm sure that they're perfectly safe. I wouldn't surprised if they came into this room at any second." He had no sooner said that when the door slid open and the said Coordinators appeared with a certain red-head next to them.

"Sai!" she shouted.

"Flay?" they exclaimed as the said girl rushed over to him and threw around his waist, crying into his chest.

"Flay…what are you doing here?" he asked, looking surprised. While this was going on, Tiffa looked over to Ryo and smiled and he returned it with a nod. Meanwhile, on the bridge, the crew was preparing to put there escape plan into motion.

"Prepare the decoy for launch. Set our course for Artemis and then engage the engines at full speed for ten seconds. After that, the ship will enter stealth mode to avoid detection. All hands, Level 2 Battle Stations. Disengage the ship's controls as soon as you can," Murrue ordered and then turned to Mu before saying, "Are you sure this idea of yours will work?"

"I admit that it's a bit lame," he shrugged, "But hey, it's the best we can do for now."

"Do we know how long it will take to get there?"

"ETA of 'Silent Running' to Artemis…about two hours," Mu said, "Now, it's all up to our luck."

-----------------------------

"It looks like they've already slipped through the debris," Ades said as he observed a map with Rau, "They may have already left the area."

"That's highly unlikely," Rau told him, "They' hiding out there somewhere and holding their breath…probably thinking of a trap."

"A trap?"

-----------------------------

"Launch Decoy 3!" Natarle ordered and a missile-like object fired from one of the Archangel's rear full-size missile launchers. Moments later, it put on a burst of speed and shot off towards the moon.

-----------------------------

"We'll send the Vesalius here first and wait for the enemy ship," Rau said, pointing out a location on the map, "While the Gamow follows behind and searches for the ship on the orbital intersection course."

"Towards Artemis?" Ades blinked, "But what if they take the moon route?"

"Sir! Large heat source detected! It appears to be of the battleship class! Projected course: Moon Surface, Earth Alliance Atlantic Headquarters!"

-----------------------------

"Main engines to maximum!" Murrue ordered, "To Artemis!" The thrusters mounted on the Archangels rear sides burst to life to turn it around before the main engines ignited, propelling the ship forward. Inside, the students looked around in surprise as the mess hall began to shake.

-----------------------------

"Commander…"

"It's nothing but a decoy," Rau said as he went over to the Captain's seat.

"But shouldn't we tell the Gamow to follow just in case?"

"No, they're definitely heading towards Artemis. I'm even more sure of it now," Rau told him, "Launch the Vesalius. Get Zelman on the line." As the Vesalius began to move, the vibrations jolted Athrun out of his bed, causing him to float around in the weaker gravity. He glanced over to the adjacent bed, which had two bags and a red ZAFT uniform lying on it. They had been Rusty's, as the late red-coat had been Athrun's room mate on the ship until recently.

"Rusty…" Athrun sighed, turning away so that he wouldn't have to look at them, "Miguel…"

-----------------------------

"Oh? You're a doctor?"

"Yes, I am."

"The Captain has a bullet wound on her shoulder. Do you think you could take a look at it later?" The few officers on the Archangel were busy getting the civilians settled into the ship after deciding to house them in the rooms originally designed for the crew. The students, on the other hand, had already moved into one and were currently discussing the events.

"Where do you think we're going?" Sai asked after a while, "Didn't we change course a few minutes ago?"

"I think so," Kira shrugged, "I couldn't really tell what was going on."

"Do you think that the ZAFT are still around?" Tolle added, "I mean, this is an Earth Forces ship. Not to mention it's got Mobile Suits on board."

"In that case, they're probably pursuing us as we speak," Ryo frowned, "And I doubt that even this ship can outrun a Nazca class."

"What? I should have stayed in the life pod then!" Flay cried out, "It's too dangerous here!"

"Let me ask you something. Would rather be on a broken down life pod that was probably going to run out of oxygen pretty soon or be on this nice big ship where there's food and water? Not to mention much more leg room," Ryo asked irritably, wishing that he and Kira had just left her life pod drifting around in space. With that thought, he gave the brunette a look that clearly said, "This is all your fault"; causing him to tilt his head in a confused way.

"Well…I guess it isn't so bad here…" she said humbly, leaning against Sai as a few ot them smiled in amusement.

"Hey, do you think our parents are alright?" Kuzzey asked.

"The evacuation alarm was going off everywhere," Sai replied, "I'm sure they're fine."

"Hey, you two," a voice suddenly said and the students looked to see Mu come into the room and gesture at Kira and Ryo, "Murdoch's getting kind of mad. There's not enough manpower, so he wants you guys to look after your own machines."

"Our…machines?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow but then understood, "Wait, does that mean…?"

"That's the way that it is right now," Mu answered, "Our last-ditch exit strategy is about to commence. It'll be pretty rough. The fact is, you guys are the only ones who can do it."

"We already piloted those things twice because we didn't have any other options!" Kira frowned, "I told you already that we don't want to fight! We're not soldiers!"

"Then are those going to be your last words when the battle starts up?" he asked and added as the students flinched, "Listen, I understand how you feel, but we're the only ones who can protect this ship now."

"I know that," Kira sighed, "I know that, but…"

"All we can do is contribute in whatever way we can, in our own way, whether soldier or civilian," Mu continued, "It's tough, but those are the circumstances we now face on this ship. The truth is, I'd like to run away from it all myself…but I can't…So, what'll it be? The choice is yours, just make sure you don't regret the decision you make."

"Lieutenant…"

"Remember," Mu said with a small smile, "If you have the power to do something, then you should put it to good use." He added as he started to leave, "We don't have much time…even to worry about it."

"But where are we going?" Sai asked as he moved away.

"The Artemis base that's nearby," Mu told him, "Well, it'll be nice if we can get there without incident…"

"If I…" Kira frowned and then ran off without warning

"Kira!" Tolle exclaimed.

"I'll go after him," Ryo suddenly said, "You guys stay put, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, he went off after his friend, only to find him later in the Mobile Suit hangar staring at the Strike. "Hey, Kira…"

"What?"

"You're not seriously gonna run off at a time like this, are you?" Ryo frowned, crossing his arms, "Protecting the ship is gonna be harder if we don't all go."

"I don't want to fight, Ryo."

"Oh? And whatever happened to 'I'm doing this to protect the things that are dear to me?'" Ryo asked, quoting his words from earlier, "Look, Kira, if you say that you're going to fight to protect somthing, then you can't just fight one battle and then tell yourself that it's enough. You and I have the capability to protect this ship and I don't know about you, but I'm going to take Lieutenant Flaga's advice and go out there."

"Ryo…"

"It sounds hard, I know," Ryo shrugged, "But I'm going to pilot X Gundam against the ZAFT and that's final. If you're not coming along to help, then I can care less but if I die out there, it's going to be your fault for not coming along to provide cover fire." With that, he turned and left Kira there to think, thinking to tell Lieutenant Flaga of his choice.

"Who were those two?" Flay asked back in the room, "And what was that man talking about?"

"You said that Mobile Suits brought your life pod in earlier, right?," Sai explained, "The pilots were Kira and Ryo. They were out there in Mobile Suits fighting off the ZAFT earlier."

"Really? Those two?" she asked, surprised, "How can they pilot those things? They look really complicated." There was a slight silence as they glanced at each other uneasily.

"Well, the thing is," Kuzzey finally said, "They're both Coordinators."

"Kuzzey!" the others, with the exception of Flay and Tiffa, shouted at him irritably while Flay looked at him strange and Tiffa looked down at her hands.

"They're Coordinators…?" she asked, frowning, "But that means that…they're with ZAFT…" At this, Tolle slammed his fist into the wall and stood up, aggravated.

"Kira and Ryo are not with ZAFT!" he shouted at Flay, "They're fighting to protect this ship and the people aboard it. And that, in case you haven't noticed, Flay, includes you!"

"Flay, Kira and Ryo may be Coordinators," Sai told her, "But they're not with ZAFT."

"Yeah, they're our friends," Miriallia nodded, putting a hand on Tolle's arm to calm him down, "They're our best friends."

"Well, if you say so," she replied, though still looking a bit wary. Tiffa sighed and seemed to draw back even more.

"Tiffa? What's wrong?" Miriallia asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, "What is it?"

"Mir'," Tolle hissed between his teeth and nudged her arm and then Mir understood before he glanced at Sai and Kuzzey. It took Kuzzey a bit longer to remember.

"Oh yeah, now I remember," he laughed, "I forgot that she was a Coordinator too…"

"What? Her too?" Flay asked, startled.

"KUZZEY!"

"Oops," Kuzzey practically squeaked and turned red before sinking into his seat like Tiffa had done. Flay took one bewildered look at Tiffa before moving her seat away from her. This didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"Flay!" Miriallia exclaimed angrily, glaring at her, "That was really mean! Tiffa's not carrying anything contagious, Coordinators don't even get sick! Besides, Coordinators have feelings too, you know!"

"That doesn't mean that it's impossible for her to suddenly attack me!" she retorted, giving Tiffa a glare of her own, "There's no way that I can trust her!"

"How can you be so selfish?" Tolle asked, "Tiffa can't possibly do you or anyone else any harm and you already saw what Kira and Ryo did for you! They're more likely to hurt you than her and they helped you! Do you know how easy it was for them to have just left your life pod floating around in space?"

"She might have a grudge against me."

"Tiffa doesn't hold grudges, Flay," Sai replied while Miriallia did her best to comfort the younger girl, who was on the brink of tears, "It's against her nature to get angry, much less hold a grudge. Besides, she would have had plenty of opportunities to attack you while we were back on Heliopolis." Flay seemed to take his word but still seemed wary of the youngest girl, who was trying her best to hold her tears back. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and a few managed to slide down her face.

"Tiffa…" Miriallia said quietly, moving closer and taking her in her arms, "There, there, it's okay…"

"See what you did, Flay? Now you made her cry," Tolle frowned in a chastising way before moving to help Miriallia comfort Tiffa, "She's a gentle person, she treats everyone with respect. You can at least apologize."

"Ugh, fine," she said, rolling her eyes, "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings."

"It's alright," Tiffa replied, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm used to being treated like this." Meanwhile, Kira was still in the hangar, thinking about what Mu had said earlier.

-----------------------------

"_If you have the power to do something, then you should put it to good use..."_

-----------------------------

"But…" Kira muttered, "Just because I can pilot a Mobile Suit…doesn't mean I can fight a war…"

-----------------------------

"Athrun Zala, entering!"

"Ah yes, come in," Rau said from his desk while the said bluenette entered the door, "The destruction of Heliopolis caused quite a mess, so I am sorry for delaying our conversation."

"Yes sir," Athrun nodded, "I apologize for my actions during the previous battle, sir."

"I'm not going to punish you for what you did but I am interested in hearing your story," Rau told him, "After all, running off like that is completely unlike you, Athrun." When the red-coat hesitated, he added, "You were beside the other machine when it was activated, were you not?"

"My apologies. Due to an unexpected event, I was in shock and unable to report back beforehand," Athrun replied nervously, "The pilot of the remaining unit is an old friend of mine from my childhood days by the name of Kira Yamato. I saw him earlier during the attack on Heliopolis and wanted to investigate further. He is also a Coordinator."

"Oh?" Rau blinked, now very interested.

"I never would have imagined that I would meet him again there," Athrun continued, "But when I saw him, I had to make sure it was the right person."

"I see," Rau nodded, though he was surprised, before getting up and moving towards him, "I suppose your shock couldn't have been helped; after all, he was a good friend of yours, wasn't he?"

"Yes sir," Athrun nodded.

"Well, I believe your story, but if that's the case, then I will have to remove you from our next assault," Rau said, "After all, you wouldn't be able to point a gun at your friend. I wouldn't want you doing a thing like that at your age."

"But…"

"You must understand, Athrun," Rau continued, "That even if he is your friend, once he becomes our enemy, we have no choice but to shoot him down."

"But Kira…!" Athrun argued, "He's a smart guy, but he's air-headed so good natured that he doesn't know when people are taking advantage of him! He's just being used by the Naturals! I can convince him! He's a Coordinator too! There's no reason why he shouldn't understand what we're fighting for!"

"I can understand your feelings...but what if he's not willing to listen?" Rau asked, "What will you do then?"

"In that case…in that case…" Athrun stammered before reluctantly saying, "Then I'll kill him!"

"Hmm," Rau thought before saying, "I'm impressed with your resolve. Very well then, I'm counting on you."

"Yes sir!" Athrun said, saluting but thinking at the same time, "Kira…"

-----------------------------

"We're picking up a large heat signature, most likely the engines of a battleship," Pal warned, "Distance is 200, Yellow 3317, Mark 02 Charlie. Signal: Telecast 0."

"Right next to us?!" Mu exclaimed as he checked his monitor, "They're heading in the same direction as we are!"

"Have we been discovered?" Murrue asked, worry etched on her features. It had only been half an hour since they had initiated their escape plan and now that the ZAFT had showed up already, they knew that things were going to become very complicated.

"Looks like it," Natarle frowned, "But it looks like they're some distance off."

"Target is heading past our ship," Pal told them, "It's the Nazca-class!"

"Dammit," Mu swore, "They're planning on cutting us off up ahead."

"What about the Laurasia-class?"

"Just a minute," Pal replied, scanning the area, "There's a heat source right behind us at a distance of 300!"

"When did they…?"

"Well, this isn't good…" Mu frowned, "At this rate, we'll either be caught by the Laurasia-class or get intercepted by the Nazca-class if we try to escape." He paused for a moment before adding, "Say…get me the data on the two ships and a map of the area."

"You have a plan?" Murrue asked.

"Well," Mu shrugged as he turned around, "That's what I'm gonna think of right now."

"Attention! Hostiles detected! All hands, Level One battle stations! Repeat! All hands, Level One battle stations!" a voice called out over the loudspeakers, "All non-combatants, please remain in your quarters! All hands, Level One battle stations!"

"Dammit…" Chandra muttered as he and Tonomura rushed from their room, the former hastily buttoning up his uniform jacket, "They just had to show up when I was about to sleep!"

"Mama…" a young civilian girl whimpered as she clung tightly to her mother.

"Hush…" she whispered, stroking her daughter's head to comfort her, "It'll be okay…"

"Is the ship going into battle again?"

"Even with us on board!"

"Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri, please report to the bridge!" the loudspeakers suddenly announced, "Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri, please report to the bridge!"

"I wonder what those guys are gonna do now…" Miriallia sighed.

"If they don't fight…" Sai told them, "This could get pretty ugly."

"Hey, Tolle," Miriallia said, "It seems that every time there's trouble, we're always relying on those two to help us out in the end."

"If you have the power to do it, then you should put it to good use, huh?" Tolle sighed before an idea struck him. Looking up, he gazed at the others and received a nod from Sai and Kuzzey, indicating that they were thinking the same thing.

"Captain," Chandra said on the bridge a few minutes later, "There are civilians who wish to speak to you."

"We're busy right now," Natarle frowned, "If there are complaints, then we'll listen to them later. Tell them to come back after the battle."

"Actually, it's the students that came with us from Heliopolis," Chandra told her, "They're saying that they want to help out with jobs on the ship." A few minutes later, Kira was floating down the hallway, having made up his mind and heading to the hangar to get the Strike ready.

"Kira!" he heard someone call out and he looked up to see his fellow schoolmates approaching from the opposite end of the hallway with Chandra behind them; all dressed in identical blue uniforms, although Miriallia's was magenta.

"Tolle?"

"Hey, Kira."

"What's…with the outfits?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow as they stopped.

"We thought we'd help out with jobs around here," Sai explained, "We're lacking manpower, aren't we?"

"They said that we'd have to wear these if we wanted to get onto the bridge," Kuzzey added, tugging on his uniform collar.

"Although, I think ZAFT's uniforms look cooler," Tolle shrugged, "We don't even have a rank, so we look kind of stupid walking around in these…"

"Hey, don't say stuff like that!" Chandra interrupted.

"What we're saying, Kira," Tolle continued, ignoring the officer, "Is that we can't always just let you and Ryo fight to protect us all the time."

"In times like this," Miriallia added, "We want to help out in any way that we can too."

"Alright, kids, let's get going now," Chandra said as he ushered the students along.

"See you, Kira!"

"Later!"

"Oh, right. If you're going out there again, you're gonna need a pilot suit," Chandra added, "There's a locker room down this hallway, you can find one in there." Kira nodded and hurried down the hallway. When he had reached the said room, he opened the door, only to find Ryo standing there with a blue and white pilot suit already on over his normal clothes and carrying something in his arm, appearing to have been waiting for him.

"You're late," he grinned, "Did it really take you that long to make your decision?"

"Well, I thought about what you and Lieutenant Flaga said and I guess I might as well put my capabilities to good use."

"I guess I talked some sense into you after all," he smiled and then tossed him the bundle in his arms, "Here, that's your pilot suit, just slip it on over your clothes. Don't worry, it's the same size as mine, so it should fit you. Your helmet's visor can be retracted with this little button right here."

-----------------------------

"Is that…?"

"That's the Umbrella of Artemis," Rau nodded as he watched an energy field appear around what looked like an asteroid, "They must have detected us and deployed it."

"We got here unable to capture the Earth Forces' new battleship," Ades sighed, "I hope this will be worth it."

"We've already cut them off," Rau assured him, "We'll stop and take up our position here."

"Turn 180 degrees," Ades ordered after nodding, "Engage the main thrusters and advance slowly." The Vesalius slowly turned about, its side thrusters pushing its nose and rear to turn it around completely backwards as its inertia caused it to steadily drift backwards. When it was facing the incoming Archangel, its main thrusters burst to life, stopping the ship before it began to move forward again.

-----------------------------

At that time, Kira had finished putting his pilot suit on and was just clipping the neck-piece in place when the door opened. "Ah, I see you've finally found the motivation," Mu said as he floated into the room, pleased to see that both of them were ready, "To wear that uniform."

"Well, it took a bit of persuasion from Ryo for me to actually decide," Kira replied as the three pilots started to head towards the dock, the klaxons were still blaring, "And I guess I agree with what he and you said before; that we were the only ones who could protect the ship. I don't want to fight, but…if this is what I have to do to protect my friends, then I guess there's no other way."

"Hey, everyone fights for a reason, that's why we fight in the first place," Mu told him, "If you don't fight, you can't forget. Therefore, you fight." He paused before drawing them closer and adding, "Alright then, now that you guys are ready, I'd better let you two in on the plan!" Meanwhile, the bridge crew, now larger with the addition of the four students, were making last minute preparations for their battle strategy.

"The Laurasia-class is still behind us," Pal warned, "Distance is 92 and closing." By then, the three pilots had reached the hangar and Mu had explained the plan to Kira and Ryo.

"Just remember, all you have to worry about is protect the ship and yourselves," Mu said to them as he stopped in front of his Mobius Zero, "That's all that matters for the moment."

"Right," Kira nodded, albeit nervously, "You take care too." Mu nodded and gave both of them a pat on the shoulder before entering his machine, closing the hatch behind him.

"Come on," Ryo said, gesturing towards the Gundams, "We'd better get ready too."

"Yeah," Kira replied and the two pushed off as he thought, "Athrun…are you going to be out there too? Coming after this ship?" At that moment, the airlock on one of the Archangel's two linear catapults opened up as the Mobius Zero moved onto the launch area.

"Mobius Zero, Flaga unit," Natarle's voice boomed over the speakers, "Proceed to the catapult for launch!" The emergency net unfolded behind the unit as the airlock closed and the Mobius Zero was ready to head out.

"Mu la Flaga, launching!" Mu announced as he shut his visor, "Don't get yourselves blown up before I get back!" The locks holding the Mobius Zero down were released and the Mobile Armor floated freely for a moment before the magnets lining the catapult activated and propelled it out of the ship.

"The Laurasia-class is at a distance of 52 and closing!"

"Start the main engine in two minutes," Murrue ordered, "Prepare the Strike and X for launch."

"Strike and X, moving to launching positions," Tonomura confirmed as the two Mobile Suits were loaded onto either of the two catapults, "Connecting to catapult. Systems are all green." The two Mobile Suits were locked down onto the catapult by their feet to secure them as their pilots went over the plan one last time.

"The Lieutenant is going to attack the enemy that's blocking us off," Kira thought to himself as he sealed his helmet, "While he's doing that, Ryo and I are going to defend the Archangel from the ship behind us and the enemy Mobile Suits. I wonder if it'll really work…"

"Kira!" a voice called out from his speakers and he looked up to see Miriallia smiling at him from one of the screens.

"Miriallia?" Kira blinked, "What…?"

"Hey, you'd better get used to seeing me like this 'cause from now on, I'm the Mobile Suit and Mobile Armor Combat Controller!" she beamed and winked before flashing a v-sign with her fingers, "Glad to work with you guys!"

"It should be 'pleased to work with you'," Sai's voice corrected her from off-screen and Kira couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Kira, you'll be going out with the Aile Striker equipment," Natarle told him from her seat, "When the Archangel starts moving, the enemy will start chasing us in no time, so you'd better be ready, alright?" As she said that, several hatches opened up around the Strike and a red shield was connected to its left arm while a beam rifle was placed in its hand. The black and red Aile Striker was lowered from the ceiling and connected to the Strike's back.

"Right," Kira nodded and at the same time, the Archangel deployed its Lohengrin cannons to start warming them up.

"Start the main engine," Murrue said, "As soon as you do, target the Nazca-class cruiser up ahead and fire the Lohengrin cannons." The Archangel's thrusters burst to life and the ship slowly lurched forward, picking up speed with every passing second.

"Lohengrin, aim!" Natarle ordered, "Fire!" At her command, the Lohengrin cannons gathered up energy and then released twin streams of solid positron rays, the blasts annihilating any debris that stood in their way.

"We've detected a heat source approaching us from the target's bow!" an officer on the Vesalius warned as alarms went off, "We're also picking up something from their rear too!"

"Increase our thrust output!" Ades ordered, "Get us out of the way!"

"So…" Rau mused, "They realized we were here and fired in panic, did they?" Meanwhile, outside, Mu watched the positron beams fly towards the Vesalius from his Mobius Zero, steadily approaching the ship from a distance. At the same time, the Gamow had detected the energy burst and was getting ready to move.

"Assume that the detected heat source is the enemy ship," the commanding officer, Captain Zelman, ordered, "Get the Mobile Suit team ready to launch!" As the Duel, Buster, and Blitz began to move to the Gamow's linear catapult, Rau was having a last minute chat with Athrun, who was sitting at the controls of the Aegis.

"I believe in those words you said earlier, Athrun Zala," Rau told him, "Do no fail me."

"Yes sir," Athrun nodded as the hatch opened and moments later, the Aegis was shot out from the ship, rolling a bit in the lack of gravity before righting itself and heading towards the Archangel.

"The Nazca-class has just launched a single Mobile Suit!" Chandra announced.

"Alright," Murrue nodded, "Do it!"

"Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri!" Natarle said, "Launch at once!"

"Kira!" Miriallia called out, "Ryo, get ready!"

"This is it, Kira! Our first major space battle!" Ryo said to him through the speakers as the hatches opened, bathing the Mobile Suits in the light coming from the outside, "You nervous?"

"What do you think?" Kira replied, eyes focusing on the looming space before him as he flexed his fingers around the control stick, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. As this was happening, the Duel, Buster, and Blitz had all launched from the Gamow and approaching the Archangel's rear.

Ryo laughed and told him, "Well tough, get used to it! Good luck, Kira, and let's go kick some ass!" This caused Kira to smile as the intercom was cut off and then his mind went back to his friends' Lieutenant Flaga's words.

-----------------------------

"_Listen, I understand how you feel, but we're the only ones who can protect this ship now…"_

-----------------------------

"_What we're saying, Kira, is that we can't always just let you and Ryo fight to protect us all the time…"_

-----------------------------

"_In times like this, we want to help out in any way that we can too…"_

-----------------------------

"Alright, everything checks out. Go ahead you two, and good luck!" Miriallia told them, giving them to okay to launch. The screens flashed green and the two prepared to depart.

"Ryo Mouri! X! Moving out!"

"Kira Yamato! Strike Gundam!" Kira added, "Let's go!" The linear catapults activated at the same time, propelling both units towards the end of the catapult. The charging wires snapped off and the locks on the feet of the Mobile Suits released to send them flying into space. Both pilots engaged their Phase Shift Armor, turning the Gundams from grey to their unique color schemes, light issuing from the back of X Gundam's wings and the Aile Striker's wings deploying as they followed the Zero towards the battlefield, prepared to fight for their new purpose.

-Phase 04: End


	6. Phase Shift Down

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 05- Phase Shift Down

_January 25, C.E. 71, Eurasian Federation Territory, Lagrange Point 3_

Chips of floating debris was quickly blown aside as three Mobile Suits approached the rear of the fleeing Archangel. The Duel, Buster, and Blitz grouped together as their Phase Shift Armor hissed to life, preparing for the upcoming battle. "Three heat signatures detected at our rear! Distance, 67!" Chandra warned, "They're Mobile Suits!"

"They're here…" Murrue frowned as the others scrambled to get ready.

"Prepare for anti-Mobile Suit combat," Natarle ordered, "Load Missile Tubes 13 through 24 with the Korinthos missiles. Deploy Valiant guns 1 and 2 towards our rear. Get the data on the targets now!"

"Valiant Cannons 1 and 2 targeting! Missile pods are on standby! Igelstellung Guns are on full automatic!" Outside, the ship's Valiant Mk.8 linear guns rotated to the rear as the missile pods near the bridge opened up.

"Targets identified," Chandra replied, "They're…X-numbers Duel, Buster, and Blitz!"

"What?!" Natarle gaped as the rest of the crew expressed their shock as well.

"I can't believe it," Murrue muttered, "They're sending all of the stolen G's out at us at once…" Meanwhile, Athrun was closing in on the ship in the Aegis, having already activated its Phase Shift Armor, when his monitor suddenly began to alert him of something. The same thing was happening in the Strike and X, which automatically centered in on the incoming object.

"A single unit," Kira thought to himself, "That's not too bad…"

-----------------------------

"_Just remember, all you have to worry about is protecting the ship and yourselves. That's all that matters for the moment."_

-----------------------------

"Protect, right?" Kira sighed before jetting off towards the incoming object, "Ryo, you stay here with the Archangel. I'll go check out the new unit."

"Okay," Ryo nodded, "But don't do anything rash."

"Right," Kira replied and checked his screen again. In a few moments, the image zoomed in to reveal a red Mobile Suit as he thought, "That machine…Athrun?!"

"Athrun has launched from the Vesalius!" Yzak said to the others as continued to close in on the ship, "Don't fall behind, guys."

"Pfft, yeah right," Dearka smirked, "Like I'd let him get ahead of me." At that, the three stolen Mobile Suits broke their formation and split up, intending the surround the ship.

"The enemy Mobile Suit team is splitting up!"

"Begin countermeasures!" Murrue ordered, "Go ahead, CIC."

"Roger," Natarle nodded, "How's the laser targeting?"

"It's all looking good, ma'am."

"Alright," Natarle said, "Missile Tubes 13 through 18, fire!" Even as the launchers shot their contents at the incoming Mobile Suits, Natarle continued, "Tubes 7 through 12, load and aim Sledgehammers! Tubes 19 through 24, fire!" Even as the Archangel launched a barrage of missiles at the incoming Mobile Suits, the Aegis had activated one of the yellow beam sabers stored in its arm and when Kira saw this, he also had the Strike draw a saber from the Aile pack. By the time he had finished, though, the Aegis has already passed by.

"Kira, stop!" a voice suddenly called out and Kira looked up to see Athrun's face on one of his screens.

"Athrun?"

"Stop this, Kira, put away your weapon!" Athrun demanded, "Why do we have to fight when we're not even enemies?"

"Athrun…"

"You're a Coordinator too!" Athrun said, "Why are you fighting us?!" As this was going on, the other Mobile Suit team was slowly making its way through the Archangel's missile barrage while the X hovered near the rear of the ship and shot at them with its beam rifle.

"I'll go and help Athrun against the other Mobile Suit!" Yzak told the others as he shot down a few missiles with the Duel's Igelstellung guns, "You two take care of that one and keep going after the ship!"

"Right," Nicol nodded and Dearka gave his assents as well as the former destroyed several missiles with the beam rifle in its Trikeros shield system. Meanwhile, Dearka had managed to shoot down a whole cluster of missiles with a single scattering shot from its 350mm gun-launcher.

"Don't start complaining now, Dearka," Yzak smirked as Dearka winced from the flashes, "That's a big trophy we're going after." This statement annoyed the blonde a bit before he was reminded of the objective when a beam of hot pink energy barely missed the Buster.

"Get away from that ship!" Ryo snarled, firing X's beam rifle a few times at the two remaining units and forcing them to separate again. As the Duel flew off, a heavy round from one of the Archangel's Valiant cannons flew past it but Yzak ignored this as the Igelstellung guns mounted on the ship's top and bottom sides automatically activated. Inside the ship, the targeting computer was struggling to keep up with the highly agile Mobile Suits, as tracking them was no small feat.

"Valiants 1 and 2, aim!" Natarle ordered, "Fire!" Dearka and Nicol saw the two shots coming and quickly moved out of the way to avoid them. Meanwhile, Kira noticed that Ryo and the Archangel were having difficulty holding off two Mobile Suits on their own and was reminded of what he was supposed to be doing before turning back, only to have his way there blocked off by the Aegis.

"Stop it, Kira!" Athrun shouted as he started to chase the Strike, moving away from the Archangel, "Why are you with the Earth Forces?! Why are you fighting for the Naturals?!" Kira's reply was to use the Aile pack to veer off and over the Aegis in another attempt to go back.

"I'm not in the Earth Forces!" Kira replied, surprising Athrun, "It's just that there are people aboard that ship that I have to protect! My friends are on board!" As the Aegis continued its pursuit, Kira challenged Athrun with his own question, "But why are you in ZAFT? Why are you even fighting? Years ago, before we went our separate ways, you once told me that you hated war! Why did you attack Heliopolis?"

"Because the Naturals don't understand the situation," Athrun replied, looking down, "That's why they built these Mobile Suits."

"But Heliopolis is-no, _was_ a neutral colony! Even I-!" Kira was about to continue when several beams of green energy narrowly missed him and both of them looked to see Duel coming at them with its beam rifle aimed at the Strike.

"What the hell are you doing, Athrun?!" Yzak shouted angrily, "You're supposed to be fighting that Mobile Suit, not mingling with its pilot!"

"Yzak?!" Athrun gulped and thought, "This isn't good…Yzak's way too aggressive for Kira to handle! But…I can't help him either…"

"X102…" Kira muttered as the Aegis moved away and another blip moved towards his position, "The Duel…" Kira quickly shook the thought out of his head and was barely able to deflect another shot from the Duel with the Strike's shield before flying off to evade another shot. Meanwhile, the Buster and Blitz still had their hands full with the X and evading the Archangel's shots at the same time. Ryo had much more experience with his Mobile Suit and was able to successfully keep the other two at bay on his own.

"Take evasive action at maximum velocity!" Murrue ordered on the bridge, "Keep moving!"

"Load anti-beam depth charges!" Natarle added, "Fire!" Several hatches on the Archangel's sides opened up and shot out what looked like small missiles that detonated at a distance. "Keep the Igelstellungs running!" Natarle said, "Set the Helldarts on full automatic!" At her command, the launchers directly behind the Archangel's bridge let loose a smaller barrage of anti-air missiles that streaked towards the Buster and Blitz. Bullets from the Igelstellung guns continuously scraped against the Blitz's armor as well as missiles that seemed to hit it at every turn. Frustrated, Dearka shot repeatedly with the Buster's larger beam rifle but every shot seemed to fizzle out before it could reach the ship.

"An anti-beam cloak, huh?" Dearka muttered, "Not bad…" At that moment, one of his shots connected with the Archangel and the ship shook violently on the impact, startling the passengers on board. Dearka half expected to see a hole in the Archangel's armor but when the smoke cleared, he was surprised to see that the place that he had hit was glowing an angry red before the heat dissipated over the surrounding areas. While this was going on, Duel continued to chase Strike around in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Had it not been for the extra speed from the Aile-pack, Kira was sure that he would have been hit long ago by the frenzy of shots the Duel was firing at him.

"What's with this guy, flying all over the place like that?" Yzak growled, irritated by the lack of progress, "Is he trying to run away?" Finally, Kira grew tired of running away and wheeled the Strike about, pulling out its beam rifle as the targeting visor flipped over his eyes before returning fire.

"Dammit, they're better armed than I thought!" Dearka frowned as he fired a volley of missiles at the Archangel from Buster's shoulder pads, only to have them shot down by the Igelstellungs, "Our weapons can't even get through!"

"Dearka, I'm going to try and attack the enemy ship from below! Give me some cover!" Nicol said and flew off to the ship.

"Right!" Dearka nodded and as the Buster fired continuously at the X to divert its attention away from the Blitz, the stealth Mobile Suit dodged through the maelstrom of bullets and towards the ship's underside.

"Blitz is approaching from below!" Chandra warned when he detected it.

"Don't worry," Ryo said over his intercom, "I'll keep him busy." Saying that, he maneuvered around the Buster and latched onto it from behind, knocking the Mobile Suit's hands away from the handles of its weapons and grabbing onto them before firing.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Dearka gaped when he realized what was happening, "This guy's using me as a damn turret!" By now, the unexpected gunfire had caused Nicol to maneuver away from the shots and the Archangel had started firing the Igelstellung guns on its underside as well to keep it away.

"Ready the Gottfrieds!" Murrue ordered, "Roll left on a 30 degree angle, port 20!"

"Rolling left 30, port 20!" Neumann nodded and the ship lurched about to get into position, causing some of the unsuspecting passengers to lose their balance and float around. When it had a lock on the trapped Buster, the Archangel's Gottfried cannons were deployed and then fired. Seeing this, Dearka was barely able to break the Buster free from the X's grasp and avoid getting hit while Nicol returned fire.

-----------------------------

"The enemy ship is approaching. Distance is 740."

"Incoming message from the Gamow; they've confirmed the presence of two Mobile Suits."

"Two Mobile Suits?" Rau asked, "What about Mobile Armors?"

"They didn't detect any, sir."

"Well then," Rau smirked, "It seems that they still can't launch it yet."

"Sir, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to assume that," Captain Ades replied, "We can't be sure until we get more detailed information." Rau seemed thoughtful for a moment before a cynical smile crossed his face.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, the roles of the Strike and Duel had been effectively switched around, with the former shooting and the latter flying around to dodge. "Dammit!" Kira shouted and fired at Duel again, only to miss completely, "Go away!"

"Ha, what an amateur!" Yzak laughed as he drew a one of the Duel's beam sabers. Kira continued to fire, failing to notice that his power meter was going down with each shot. He did, however, notice the Duel coming at him and put up the Strike's shield to block before flying off, firing repeatedly. As the two fought, Athrun stood by and watched, still unsure of whether he should help Yzak or Kira.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Mu was easing his Mobius Zero through a small debris field, moving as quickly as he could without getting detected. Every now and then, his eyes would shift over to the monitor in front of him to check his progress. "Nothing yet…" he muttered and increased his speed by just a bit, "Come on…" At the same time, the Vesalius was steadily approaching the Archangel from the front and was soon in range of its weapons."

"The enemy ship is approaching, distance 630. It'll be within our firing range momentarily."

"Good," Rau nodded, "Let us enter combat as well."

"But Commander," Ades argued, "We still have Mobile Suits within the line of fire!"

"Do you honestly think that our own soldiers are foolish enough to get caught in friendly fire?" Rau asked calmly, "Besides, I know better than to hit our troops. They'll fire at us…" Ades gave him a skeptical look before turning back around.

"Ready the main cannons!" he ordered, "Target the enemy ship!"

"Main cannons charging," the officer replied, "Targeting the enemy ship…"

-----------------------------

As this was going on, Kira was frantically maneuvering away from the Duel, which was still chasing the Strike with its saber drawn. The brunette was frantically shooting at the enemy unit to keep it back, which in turn drained his battery even further. It was at that point that the two passed by the Buster, which drew Dearka's attention towards them.

"Huh?" Dearka blinked before he recognized the grey and navy machine, "Hey, Yzak!" At the same time, he brought up the Buster's heavy beam rifle and started shooting at the Strike, forcing Kira further onto the defensive. It was around this time that the Mobius Zero's long-range sensors picked up a large heat source from its front and Mu immediately know what it was.

"I've got you now," he grinned as the alarm in his cockpit sounded. Back at the Archangel, the crew was still struggling to keep the ship steady when Chandra suddenly spotted a new signal.

"Incoming laser signal from the Nazca-class!" he warned, "They're aiming at us! We're being locked-on to!"

"Captain!" Natarle called out but when Murrue hesitated, she followed her instinct and ordered, "Deploy the Lohengrin and prepare to fire!"

"Don't!" Murrue replied, "Lieutenant Flaga is still approaching the ship! Take evasive maneuvers!"

"It's too dangerous!" Natarle argued, "If we don't shoot, we'll be shot at!" Murrue growled a bit in frustration and resisted the urge to bang on her armrest with her fist, knowing it wouldn't solve anything.

"The Laurasia-class is closing in fast behind us!" Pal warned only moments later as Neumann and Tolle began to move the ship again.

"Athrun! Yzak!" Dearka shouted outside, "What are you guys doing?! Bring him down!" Kira could only watch helplessly as the Buster and Blitz moved in with the Aegis and Duel, effectively boxing him in.

"Dearka?!" Athrun exclaimed.

"Athrun!" Nicol called out. Even as this was happening, Rau suddenly felt a sharp tug in his skull and he became aware of a presence approaching the Vesalius from below.

"Engines at maximum!" he suddenly ordered, "Stern up 60 degrees!"

"Sir, there's a heat signature approaching from below!" an officer warned as Ades blinked, "It's a Mobile Armor!"

"Shields at full power! Stern up 60 degrees!" Ades ordered frantically. However, the order had come far too late; even as the Vesalius began to angle itself downward, the Mobius Zero appeared, its gunbarrels deployed. With a cry, Mu started firing with every weapon the Mobile Armor had, damaging the Vesalius before a shot from his linear gun ripped a sizable hole into its right wing.

"Yee-haw! Take that, Creuset!" Mu laughed triumphantly before firing the Mobius Zero's tow-line, hooking onto the damaged ship and then using his momentum to slingshot himself back around towards the Archangel.

"Status report! We're losing power fast!"

"The enemy Mobile Armor is retreating."

"Shoot it down!" Ades roared, "Destroy it before it can get back to the Legged Ship!"

"Sir, we can't! It's too fast for our guns to track!"

"The Fifth Atrium Wall has been damaged!" an officer reported, "There are reports of fire all over the ship! Damage control is sealing off all hatch doors!"

"You'll pay for this, Mu…someday," Rau thought with a snarl before he said, "Ades, give the order to retreat. Inform the Gamow as well."

-----------------------------

"Incoming message from Lieutenant Flaga!" Tonomura announced, "The mission was a success, he's coming back now!" Assorted cheers went up around the bridge as Murrue sighed with relief, knowing that they would be able to get through after all.

"Alright, let's not let this chance slip by!" Murrue said, "Target the Nazca-class cruiser and open fire!"

"Lohengrin 1 and 2, prepare to fire!" Natarle ordered.

"Contact Lieutenant Flaga and tell him to leave the area," Murrue added, "Also, signal the Strike and X and tell them to move as well."

"Positron Blaster Chambers are critical," Chandra announced, "Energy levels are stable. Opening the weapons hatch!" As this was going on, Kira was still managing to keep himself from being shot down by the enemy Mobile Suits when the warning reached him. At the same time, Athrun and his own comrades received the message that the Vesalius had been damaged and that they were to withdraw.

"The Vesalius was damaged?" Yzak blinked, letting up on his chase for a moment.

"How…?"

"We have to withdraw, huh?" Dearka sighed before they noticed that the Strike was fleeing, taking advantage of the distraction.

"Crap!" Yzak swore and started off after the Strike again. Meanwhile, the Archangel had deployed both of its Lohengrin cannons and locked on to the Vesalius. After a brief charging, both weapons fired solid beams of positron energy towards the enemy ship, obliterating any debris that got in the way. Mu, who happened to be on his way back, saw the blast coming at him and managed to veer out of the way before he was caught in it.

"Phew!" he panted, "That was way too close!"

"Heat source approaching rapidly!" an officer on the Vesalius warned, "Bearing 0-0-0. Three seconds until impact!"

"Starboard thrusters, full power!" Rau ordered, "Get us out of the way!" The command came none too soon as the positron blast scraped off a small chunk of its left wing, causing tremors all over the ship. "Damn…" Rau snarled, "We'd better pull out now before they get another shot at us."

"The Nazca-class is leaving our firing range," Chandra announced.

"Good, give the signal for Strike and X to return at once," Murrue nodded, "The Archangel will now head to Artemis at maximum velocity!" At her words, the Archangel launched three signal flares; amethyst, bright green, and sky blue.

"A retreat signal?" Yzak frowned, "As if I'll let them get away, even if it's just this one!" With that, he charged at the Strike, despite its continuous fire.

"Yzak, stop!" Athrun shouted, "We were ordered to retreat!"

"Shut up, you coward!" the Duel pilot replied angrily, "We've come this far, I'm not going back empty handed! Let me just get this one!" Saying that, he aimed Duel's beam rifle and fired, scoring a direct hit on Strike. Strike fired back but missed. "Dearka, Nicol, block him in!" Yzak ordered.

"Dammit…at this rate…" Kira muttered as the Strike spun around and around.

"Kira, look out! They're surrounding you!" Miriallia cried out as Kira fired continuously at Buster, each shot missing, "Be careful, don't use too much power!"

"You can't save your power and fight and enemy like that!" Sai argued, "This is only Kira's second time flying that thing and these pilots are probably professionals!"

"Give Strike some cover-fire!" Murrue ordered, "He can't handle all four alone!"

"We're getting farther away from the Strike!"

"Captain, Strike's power supply-"

"I know, Ensign Badgiruel," she replied, "Where's Lieutenant Flaga?"

"He can't get back?" Mu blinked when he received the message moments later, "Ugh, that kid…"

"Ryo and Lieutenant Flaga, find Kira and give him some assistance before his power supply runs out!"

"Will do, ma'am!" Ryo said before transforming X Gundam into its Mobile Armor mode and flying back to the battle. Meanwhile, Kira was having a very difficult time against the three Gundams attacking him while Athrun still hesitated. Soon, he had lost his shield to the Buster's continuous assault and he was starting to get scared.

"I'm surrounded…" he gasped, "Can't keep up with them…" At that, he was hit again and he started to really sweat. "So…this is war…?" he thought, breathing heavily, "Am I gonna…die…?" Just then, he saw the Duel racing at him, both beam sabers drawn and poised to attack. Instinctively, he clicked the controls to shoot but all that came out was a green spark from the nozzle of the beam rifle. "Oh no! The battery's out!" he exclaimed, "My Phase Shift is…down…" Outside, the Strike's Phase Shift Armor slowly deactivated, rendering the Mobile Suit a dull gray. Seeing that there was nothing else he could do, Kira abandoned the Strike's beam rifle before turning to flee but the Duel was already upon him.

"You're mine!" Yzak shouted and raised one of the Duel's sabers.

"This is it…" Kira cringed as he squeezed his eyes shut, "I'm done for!" A sudden impact shook the Strike but after a few minutes of nothing happening, Kira dared a peek to see what was going on. When he did, he saw that the Strike was being towed off by the transformed Aegis, the latter clutching it in its large claw.

"Strike has been captured by the Aegis!" Neumann exclaimed, "It's Phase Shift is down!" As a collective gasp went up, Kira was frantically trying to break free as an argument raged over his speakers.

"Athrun! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Dearka shouted.

"I'm capturing this unit," the bluenette replied, "I'm bringing it back to the Gamow."

"What did you say?!" Yzak fumed.

"We were ordered to destroy it!" Dearka argued, "Stop messing around!"

"It's better for us if we bring it back!" Athrun said, "Fall back now!"

"Why you…Athrun!" Yzak snarled as the Duel, Buster, and Blitz flew after the Aegis and its prize, "Dammit, that bastard…"

"The Laurasia-class is at 210 clicks and closing!" Chandra warned.

"Captain!"

"Ryo, Lieutenant Flaga, hurry!" Miriallia cried out, "Kira! Kira, can you hear me? Say something!"

"Hang on, Kira, we're coming!" Ryo said, aiming X Gundam's Scylla Cannon.

"Incoming message from Lieutenant Flaga!" Tonomura announced, "He wants us to put the Launcher Striker pack on standby on the catapult and ready it for launch." As the crew shared confused glances, Kira had given up trying to escape and instead contacted Athrun.

"Athrun! Just what're you trying to do here?"

"I'm taking you to the Gamow."

"Stop kidding around!" Kira frowned, "I'm not gonna go on a ZAFT ship!"

"You're a Coordinator!" Athrun replied, "You're one of us, Kira!"

"No! I won't join ZAFT!"

"Enough, Kira!" Athrun shouted, shocking Kira, "You have to…otherwise, I'll have to shoot you down!"

"Athrun…"

"Kira…my mother…she died during the Bloody Valentine tragedy…" Athrun muttered, "That's why…!" Before he could finish, a burst of gunfire and energy narrowly missed Aegis and Athrun quickly moved to the side. Turning, the two saw two Mobile Armors heading their way, one being Mobius Zero as it deployed its gunbarrels, the other the transformed X Gundam.

"Ryo! Lieutenant Flaga!"

"Back off, Aegis!" Ryo shouted, "If anyone's gonna kill Kira, it's gonna be _me_ when I pulverize him in the hangar for being such a freakin' newb!" By now, Mu had opened up with the gunbarrels and one of his shots managed to hit the Aegis.

"You alright, kid?" Mu asked, "Hang on, we'll get you out of there!" At that moment, Athrun's companions showed up and were rather surprised to see the other two units.

"Mobile Armor?" Dearka blinked, "Where'd they come from?"

"Dammit…" Athrun swore, "This isn't good." Knowing that he was no match for them while in Mobile Armor mode, he let go of the Strike and reverted the Aegis back to its Mobile Armor mode.

"Kira, fall back!" Mu said, "The Archangel will send out a Launcher Pack!" As he skillfully avoided the Aegis, he added, "There's still a ship behind us! Hurry up and go!" Taking one last look at Athrun, Kira thought of his friends who were aboard the ship and then made up his mind.

"Understood," he said and flew back to the ship.

"Kira!"

"Don't let him get away!" Yzak shouted as the Strike passed by and flew after him in the Duel, with the Buster close by. Ryo transformed and fired at the Blitz, preventing Nicol from joining the chase while Kira avoided the shots that were fired at him from behind. At the same time, multiple salvos of Sledgehammer missiles and Valiant rounds were fired from the Archangel to give Kira time to get in front of the ship.

"Don't let them get close to the Strike!" Natarle said, "Keep up the attack as long as you can!"

"Sergeant Murdoch, how are the preparations coming?" Murrue asked.

"We're ready when you are!" Murdoch replied as he gazed at the Launcher Striker pack being suspended in the catapult, "But I gotta say, this is pretty reckless. There's no guarantee that it won't get shot down on the way."

"Then we'll keep launching them!" Murrue retorted, causing Murdoch to cringe a bit at her tone, "We've got no other choice! Ensign Badgiruel, I'll leave the timing of the launch to you!"

"Roger!" Natarle nodded, "Just pass the controls down here!" When the procedure was done, Natarle began her instructions, "Laser Designator, online. Match the Strike's velocity and make any adjustments to the catapult's launch moment that you need to. Transfer the data to the Launcher Striker's computer." As the Strike began to pass by the Archangel, Mu was still handling the Aegis, using his gunbarrels to surround the red Mobile Suit.

"Oh no you don't," Mu grinned as he dodged another shot, "We won't be able to get anywhere without me!" Seeing this, Nicol tried to get over to help Athrun but the X blocked the Blitz's path and drove him off. Nearby, Dearka had given up his pursuit and had combined the Buster's weapons to form a long-range sniper rifle instead to shoot at the Strike.

"Yzak!" Dearka exclaimed when he saw the Duel rush past him.

"You're not getting away from me!" the fair-head shouted as he slowly closed in on the fleeing Strike.

"The Duel is approaching!" Chandra warned, "At this rate, it'll catch up to the Strike!" There was silence for a few moments as the crew watched with baited breath. Moments later, the Strike moved in front of the catapult and in range of the launch.

"The Strike has entered the launching path!"

"Catapult, launch!" Natarle ordered and the catapult opened, propelling the Striker pack into space towards the Mobile Suit.

"Here it comes!" Kira said and quickly detached the Aile Striker to make room for the Launcher. By now, however Yzak had caught up and was now aiming at the Strike, grinning as the targeting rings merged into one to signify a solid lock. "He's got a lock on me?!" Kira gaped as the vulcan gun and gun-launchers attached to the Strike's right shoulder. At that moment, Yzak clicked the trigger and launched the warhead attached to the Duel's beam rifle, sending the projectile straight at the Strike.

"Kira!" Tolle called out as the others held there breaths and watched as the Launcher pack latched onto the Strike's back. Seconds later, a bright flash lit up the surrounding area and everyone stopped what they were doing for a moment to see what was going on.

"Did I get him?" Yzak muttered excitedly, floating closer to get a closer look. Much to his surprise, however, a burst of energy suddenly flew from the smoke and he barely got out of the way as the blast took off the Duel's right arm. As the smoke cleared, a shape was seen flying towards the Duel and revealed the fully recharged Strike, Phase Shift Armor active and without a scratch. As Kira wildly fired the Launcher Strike's Agni impulse cannon, Yzak was forced back while Ryo joined in and fired at the Buster with its beam rifle.

"Yzak, Dearka!" Athrun called out, "Listen, we have to pull out now! Further attacks will be useless!"

"What are you talking about?!" Yzak growled.

"Yzak, he's right," Nicol told him, "If we keep this up, our own power will run out and we'll be at a serious disadvantage."

"God dammit!" Yzak swore, pounding on his view screen before the Buster took hold of the Duel and flew off, avoiding the shots from the Strike and X and retreating to the Gamow in the distance.

"The enemy Mobile Suit team is retreating!" Chandra announced and everyone heaved a sigh of relief as Murrue sat down, having gotten up in the initial excitement.

"Yeah! We did it!" Ryo laughed, punching the air in triumph, "That was great, huh, Kira? Kira?" His smile faded a bit when the brunette didn't reply and quickly went over to lead the Strike back to the Archangel. A few minutes later, the Launcher Pack had been stripped off and both Mobile Suits were locked down for repairs. As soon as he climbed out of the X's cockpit, Ryo spotted Mu hoisting himself out of the Mobius Zero and floated down over to him. "Hey, Lieutenant," he smiled, "That was some pretty slick stuff, hiding in the debris like that to conceal your Mobile Armor like that…"

"Heh, it was nothing," Mu chuckled, offering his fist, "You and Kira didn't do so badly either for your first space battle."

"Guess not, huh?" Ryo grinned and then tapped Mu's fist with his own, "Say, speaking of which, where's Kira at anyway? Did he come out yet?"

"I don't think so," Mu said and shook his head, "Let's go check, shall we?" Ryo nodded and the two of them floated over to the Strike's cockpit, where a team of mechanics was trying to get it opened..

"Hey, Kira, you coming out or what?" Ryo called out, "Come on, buddy, the fight's over, you can leave the cockpit now." Hearing nothing, he pressed his ear against the cockpit hatch while Mu asked Murdoch what was going on, even though the move was rather futile. "Alright, fine, just sit in there," he grumbled as he pulled back, "I'm coming in whether you like it or not." Saying that, he reached around and fumbled around before he found the emergency latch, pulling down on it to open the cockpit manually and then sticking his head into the cockpit. "Hey, Kira!" Ryo said but then stopped speaking when he saw that the brunette was trembling in his seat, hands still squeezing the controls and taking deep steadying breaths. "Kira? You feeling okay?" Ryo blinked, waving a hand in front of his friend's face, only to realize that Kira was too distracted to see it.

"Come on, kid," Mu smiled and Ryo moved aside to let him into the cockpit, "The fight's over." With that, he pried Kira's shaking hands from the controls before adding, "Look, calm down, will ya? We're all alive and you and Ryo did a terrific job." Kira seemed to get a grip on himself and stared at his hands before Ryo frowned and without warning, yanked the poor teen right out of his seat.

"Hey! What're you…!" Kira exclaimed, now jolted back into reality.

"Let's go," Ryo said, "I can't wait to get out of this stupid pilot suit…" He heard Mu chuckle behind us as he dragged Kira down to the floor and left the hangar with him.

"Um, Ryo?" Kira asked, "Do you even know where the locker room is?"

"Uh…" Ryo blinked, nearly stopping for a moment, "Now that you mention it…" Kira just sighed and shook his head as his friend started looking around for the locker room. After finding it fifteen minutes later, Ryo opened one of the lockers and tossed his helmet in carelessly before peeling off the pilot suit and stuffing it in with the helmet. Without waiting for Kira, he left and started in the direction of the bridge, hoping to catch the others while the brunette hurried after him. To his surprise, they found them in the cafeteria instead, where Flay was whining to Sai about how scared she had been and how he was such a jerk for not being there to comfort her.

"The ship was shaking around so much!" he heard her exclaim when the two entered, "And I was all alone, and…"

"Kira! Ryo!" Mir exclaimed when she noticed the two entering and the others looked up before going over to them..

"That was amazing! You guys were awesome out there!" Tolle said, smiling as he clapped them on the shoulders.

"Are you two okay?"

"We're fine, Milly," Kira replied with his own smile, "I was…just a bit shaken. I thought I was a goner when my power went out…"

"Yeah, well lucky for you, I was there to haul your ass out of trouble," Ryo grinned, giving him a friendly punch on the arm, "If it weren't for me, you'd be on the wrong ship!" The others laughed at this, even Tiffa giggled at the remark but even then, Ryo didn't mention that he could tell that Kira was still rather shaken up from the incident. "Say, Miriallia," he said, changing the subject, "When are they gonna give Kira and I our uniforms?"

"They should be on your beds."

"Nice," he smiled, "Come on, Kira; let's go get those things on."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, the Gamow had halted its pursuit and was currently in the process of loading the stolen Mobile Suits for repairs. As Nicol backed the Blitz into the open hangar, the rest of the pilots were in the locker room debriefing. Or rather, Yzak and Dearka were both chewing Athrun out for what had happened. "You idiot, Athrun!" Yzak shouted, his grip on the green-eyed Coordinator's collar tightening as he slammed him into the lockers, "What the hell were you thinking! We would've had them if you hadn't decided to pull such a stupid stunt…!"

"This is all your fault, Athrun," Dearka agreed, not as angrily as Yzak but he was still quite mad at his friend, "If it wasn't for your insubordination, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Hey, come on guys, lay off," Nicol sighed as he entered, being the only one who wasn't holding a grudge against Athrun at the moment, "This really isn't the best place to vent."

"All four of us went after them!" Yzak snapped, "And we still couldn't bring even one of them down! You think I'll take that sitting down?!"

"But blaming Athrun for everything isn't going to change this," Nicol said, "I'm sure it won't happen again."

"It had sure better not…" Yzak growled before giving Athrun a hard shove and storming out of the room with Dearka, the latter shutting the door.

"Look, Athrun, don't let those guys get to you," Nicol said to his friend, "But still, it _was_ a bit unlike you to falter like that in battle. Is something…?"

"No, I'm fine, Nicol," Athrun replied, interrupting him, "I just…I need some time by myself." Nodding his consent, Nicol left the room and as soon as he was gone, Athrun slammed his fist into the wall. "Kira…" he muttered, shaking with silent anger. As this was going on, the damaged Vesalius had retreated and was now hovering near a large piece of debris.

"Commander Creuset," Ades said, handing Rau a slip of paper, "There's a letter for you from the home country." Rau took a brief look at it and then smirked before handing it back. "What's this? Orders from the Council to return?" Ades blinked when he too had read it, "But we've already come this far!"

"It must be about Heliopolis' collapse. No doubt the Council will be busy trying to handle it," Rau replied, "Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it. We'll let the Gamow continue pursuing the Legged Ship."

"Yes sir."

"Also," Rau added, "Send for Athrun Zala. Once repairs are complete, he will be returning with us."

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"Artemis has accepted our request to dock," Pal announced about an hour later, "They'll be sending out an inspection ship."

"Understood," Murrue nodded, "Thanks." Later, as the shuttle neared the ship, both Kira and Ryo were walking around to memorize the ship's interior when they rounded a corner and came face-to-face with none other than Mu.

"Hey, you two, hold up a second," he said to them, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Yes?"

"Listen, we'll be docking in Artemis soon," Mu said, "But before we do, I need the two of you to put a lock on the activation systems of your Mobile Suits."

"Lock the activation system?" Kira asked, slightly puzzled, "But why?"

"So that only we can use it, you dolt," Ryo replied, rolling his eyes at the obviousness of the answer, "Come on, even _I_ knew what he was talking about. Anyway, we'll get right to it, Lieutenant Flaga." Meanwhile, Lieutenant Ramius was meeting with Lieutenant Commander Biddulph from the Artemis station.

"I can't thank you enough for allowing us to dock here," she said as Natarle and herself greeted him with a salute, along with other inspecting officers that had come aboard with him, "We've been through a lot since Heliopolis." Meanwhile, the Archangel had turned around to face away from Artemis as it was slowly drawn in on a flight path. On a viewing platform, Flay was looking out of the window with the others as the Archangel prepared to dock.

"Sai? What's that weird light surrounding the station?" she asked, turning to him.

"That's the Umbrella of Artemis," Sai answered, pointing to the pieces of debris that practically disintegrated upon contact with the shield, "It's a light wave barrier that protects the station from enemy fire. Not even lasers can penetrate it."

"That's good," she sighed, feeling safer already as the barrier dissipated to let the ship in, giving them a clear view of the gate, "Now the ZAFT can't get to us, right?"

"Yeah," Sai nodded, "We're safe now." At this time, the Archangel was safely inside the bay and Kira and Ryo had finished locking the activation system. Large, mechanical arms attached themselves to the sides of the ship, securely locking down. Moments later, however, armed personnel appeared riding transport skiffs and surrounded the ship, positioning themselves around the Archangel to prevent anyone from leaving.

"Captain!" Natarle exclaimed when she saw them.

"What the…" Tolle blinked, "What's going on here?"

"Lieutenant Commander, what's the meaning of this?" Murrue frowned glancing at the Eurasian officer.

"Please remain silent," the senior officer replied, shaking his head, "That is in your best interest, Captain."

"Hey, Ryo," Kira said as he watched the armed guards approach the ship, "Do you know what's going on?"

"No, but I don't like this," he frowned, "I don't like this at all."

-Phase 05: End


	7. The Vanishing Gundam

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 06- The Vanishing Gundam

_January 27, C.E. 71, Eurasian Federation Asteroid Fortress "Artemis", Lagrange Point 3_

-----------------------------

_Artemis, the Earth Alliance's Eurasian Federation asteroid base. Under the protection of its Lightwave Defense Array, it has proven to be an impregnable fortress to this very day. Having miraculously escaped the pursuing Creuset Team, the Archangel finally docked within the protective shield known as the "Umbrella of Artemis". _

_However, not all is going as expected…_

-----------------------------

Armed soldiers from Artemis began boarding the Archangel, securing the cargo bays and other areas before making their way to the bridge. Once there, they cleared everyone out and herded all of the people on board, civilian and soldier alike, into the cafeteria.

"What is this?!" Murrue frowned when she found an assault rifle being pointed at her face, "What's going on here?"

"Gather the crew in one place!" one of the guards shouted in hangar, where Mu was being nudged forward by the nozzle of a gun. Understandably, this unexpected turn of events caused general confusion and slight panic amongst the masses as they were led to the cafeteria with the others. "What's going on?" Flay asked Sai as Kira and Ryo sat next to them, "Why are they bringing everyone in here?"

"I'm not sure," he replied as he looked around, frowning as more crew members were led into the room. Ryo sighed and fidgeted with the collar on his uniform a bit before glancing over at the others and saw that Tiffa seemed rather uneasy about something.

"Something wrong?" he asked her, "You look nervous."

"It's…it's nothing, really," Tiffa replied, shaking her head, "Just…a little confused…"

"Relax," Ryo smiled, "I'm sure that things will clear up eventually." She smiled a bit too but the concern never left her face.

"Alright!" a voice barked from the doorway and they looked to see a few guards entering and aiming their weapons at the crowd, "No on move!"

"Lieutenant Commander Biddulph, can we please have an explanation as to what is going on here?" Natarle asked, exasperated at the fact that they were being treated in such a way, "We..."

"We are locking simply down the ship's controls and weaponry," Biddulph interrupted.

"Locking down?" Natarle began frowned, "But that's-"

"Your ship does not have any valid identification, nor does it have the identification codes of our forces," Biddulph said when Natarle was cut off by a guard, "Considering the situation, we granted you permission to dock here. Unfortunately, we are unable to recognize you as allies at the moment."

"But-!"

"I apologize for the inconvenience," Biddulph sighed, "But this is a military installation and we must take any precautions to ensure the safety of the men stationed here. I hope you will understand." After a pause, he added, "Very well then, if the commanding officers of the ship would kindly follow me, I will fill you in on the situation." Moments later, Biddulph and a pair of armed guards escorted Murrue and Natarle through the halls of the Archangel, where they met up with Mu and his escort. Shortly afterward, they boarded a small transport and began their trip to the command center. At the same time, all of the remaining crew was led into the cafeteria and the view screens were shut off, completely sealing everyone inside off from the outside.

-----------------------------

"The Atlantic Federation…" Commander Gerard Garcia muttered from his desk, watching the screens behind it show several camera angles of the Archangel, "So that's their secret military project. They sure knew how to hide that thing."

"So, the rumors of a ship in Heliopolis were true," the Captain next to him said, also looking at the screen.

"It would seem so," Garcia nodded, "I think I'll invite the crew to stay a while…"

"Excuse us," a voice from behind the door announced, "I've brought the Archangel's commanding officers here."

"Very well, enter," Garcia nodded and the door opened to admit three rather disgruntled officers. "Well, ladies, gentleman," he said, standing up to acknowledge them, "Welcome to Artemis."

-----------------------------

"So what is it with Artemis? Isn't the Eurasian Federation our ally?" Sai asked, "Do they have something against the Atlantic Federation or something?"

"That's not the problem," Tonomura told him.

"The problem," Pal sighed, "Is that we don't have an identification code

"That's it?" Tolle asked, raising an eyebrow, "That sounds a bit extreme."

"Well, that's the way it is," Chandra shrugged, "It's for security."

"This doesn't feel right," Ryo frowned, crossing his arms, "There's got to more to their hostility than just a matter of lacking identification." I saw Chief Petty Officer Neumann and Murdoch nod in agreement before I turned and asked the others, "What do you guys think?"

"I'm stumped," Mir replied, "As far as I know, they could be just checking on us." Just then, Ryo heard Kira heave a sigh and turned to face him.

"Oh come on, Kira," Ryo said, "Don't tell me you're still thinking about that battle we just had!" Kira looked up as if startled and Ryo knew that he had guessed right. Nonetheless, he could find no reason to blame him and contented himself with sighing inwardly.

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"Lieutenant Murrue Ramius," Garcia read out loud from the computer on his desk, "Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, and Ensign Natarle Badgiruel. All from the Atlantic Federation, if I'm correct."

"That's right," Mu nodded, "I'm sorry if we took up your time."

"It's nothing, really," Garcia replied, his lips twitching into a small grin, "I was actually quite surprised to see that the famous 'Hawk of Endymion' was on the ship. I took part at Grimaldi Front too, you know."

"Is that so?" Mu asked, "Were you in Admiral Villard's unit?"

"You got it," the commander nodded, "We were on the verge of defeat until you shot down those five Ginns on your own. That feat gave us the encouragement that we needed to get back up and win."

"Wow, thanks," Mu smiled before turning serous again, "But the truth is, I was on a special mission before joining the Archangel; I can't really specify it right now."

"That's perfectly fine," Garcia said, "Now then, I assume that you're here for supplies, am I right?"

"Yes sir, that's why," Murrue nodded, glad that he was getting to the point.

"Well, I'm afraid that it will take time to re-supply your ship, so it can't be done immediately," he told them, "I'm sure that you'll understand."

"Sir, with all due respect," Murrue said, "It's absolutely essential that we get to the Lunar Headquarters as soon as possible, as we are currently being pursued by the ZAFT."

"ZAFT?" Garcia asked with an amused smile before hitting a button on his desk. Immediately, the screen behind him changed to show the Gamow floating around outside of the Artemis.

"The Laurasia-class?!" Natarle exclaimed, "Here?!"

"As you can see," Garcia continued calmly, "They're hovering just outside the Umbrella. They've been sitting there ever since you docked." He paused before adding, "Well, no matter, one or two of those ships is nothing for us. However, at this point, you won't be able to leave immediately, even if you got your supplies now."

"Sir, I really think that it would be best if we were re-supplied now so that we can depart immediately," Mu said, "I don't know much about the ZAFT, but I know that we're what they're after. I'm sure that they'll come up with a way to get in and possibly damage Artemis."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Lieutenant Flaga. Damage the Artemis?" Garcia laughed, "They can't do a thing and they'll eventually leave. It's always been like that and it always will be."

"But Commander, they-!"

"Now then, I'm sure you must be tired after your trip here," Garcia told them and summoned an officer, "I've already had rooms prepared for you. Once the Laurasia-class leaves, we'll contact the Lunar Headquarters and let them know you're here. Everything starts after that."

"Do you really believe that the Artemis is safe?" Mu asked but Garcia only chuckled and gave a brief reply.

"Like in a mother's embrace."

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"Hmm, for military food, this stuff isn't so bad," Ryo thought as he took a bite out of his sandwich, "Although I really would've preferred this thing without all this lettuce and crap." It was lunch time and everyone was eating…almost. Tiffa sat next to her friends and watched them eat not having much of an appetite at the moment. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her when he noticed, "How come you're not eating?"

"I guess I'm just not hungry," she replied, looking down at her hands. The truth was, she was feeling very uneasy and what bothered her was that she knew what she was nervous about. "They're coming…the ZAFT…" she thought and tensed slightly, "They're going to break in and the Archangel will escape…but everyone else is gonna die…" Just then, she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up in surprise to see that it was Ryo.

"Look, I know that it's tough, being stuck in here while the ZAFT are floating just outside the Umbrella," he said, "But relax, okay? Even if they do manage to break in, Kira and I can drive them off easily, right Kira?"

"Huh?" Kira blinked, startled out of more thoughts of Athrun, "Oh, um, yeah, sure."

"Anyway, the point is, Tiffa," Ryo sighed, turning back to her, "We'll protect this ship with our lives and we'd die before we let anything bad happen to anyone aboard. So don't worry about a thing, because I'll be here to protect you." Tiffa couldn't help but smile too; his words had already calmed down her nerves. She didn't know why, but she was beginning to grow attached to him emotionally; it was like just being near him made her happy. It was he who had first shown her compassion of any kind and saved her from her loneliness, she had never forgotten his kindness towards her back on the colony before it was destroyed.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder," Chandra said suddenly, "When are we going to be leaving?"

"Beats me," Tonomura replied with a shrug, "Hours, maybe even days, it depends on when they finish loading up. Either that, or we break out. Regardless, we won't know anything until the Captain and the others get back."

"Well, we can't just fight against our own allies," Pal said, "That kind of defeats the whole purpose."

"Things happen in the Earth Alliance," Ryo shrugged, "I wouldn't be surprised if one day, we did fight against them."

"Athrun…" Kira thought and sighed again. Meanwhile, the three senior officers were locked in a room prepared for them and it was rather comfortable, Natarle wasn't taking the situation very well.

"Let us out! Are you listening to me?!" she shouted at the door so that the guards could hear, "We're your allies, remember?!" When she got no reply, she resorted to pacing around the room and mumbling, "Even if we're from an 'unknown ship', there's just something wrong with the way they're treating us!"

"Let it go, Badgiruel," Mu sighed, "They're not going to let us back onto our ship any time soon, so there's not really much we can do right now. What I'm worried about is that Commander Garcia is so confident that Artemis' defenses."

-----------------------------

"As we all know, the Umbrella can't be penetrated by any of our weapons, projectile or energy based," Captain Zelman said to Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol, "The same, however, goes for them."

"So that's why they're not attacking?" Dearka asked, "Sounds pretty dumb."

"However it's first class as a defensive weapon," Zelman said, "Our forces have come this far before, but no one has ever been able to penetrate the Umbrella. We'll have a hard time getting to the Legged Ship as long as it's in there."

"So what do we do now?" Dearka grinned, "Wait for them to come out?"

"Shut up, Dearka," Yzak replied irritably as Dearka snickered at his own joke, "We don't have time for your stupidity. Besides, it would be a major disgrace to have to report to Commander Creuset with just 'I wasn't able to do anything'." This scored him a major frown from Dearka but Nicol managed to break the tension before it got out of hand.

"Well, is the shield activated?" he asked, changing the subject.

"The Umbrella will stay active until we leave," the captain replied, "As long as it is within our firing range, they'll keep it up. And even if we move in while it's being shut down, it'll be back up before we can do anything."

"Well, maybe we can use the Blitz to our advantage," the green-haired Coordinator said, "I was observing its technical specs and discovered that besides the Phase Shift armor, it's got another… rather interesting feature." Moments later, the Gamow suddenly turned around and began moving away. Back at the Artemis, Garcia was monitoring the inspection of the Archangel when his intercom sounded.

"What is it?"

"The Laurasia-class is pulling out," the officer on the other line told him, "Coordinates are Yellow 1-8, Mark 2-0, Charlie. Distance is 700 and increasing."

"Alright," Garcia nodded, "Maintain watch over the area and keep me posted."

"Yes sir." At that moment, the door opened and Garcia's companion officer entered.

"Well? How's it coming along?"

"The inspection of the ship is proceeding smoothly, but…" the Captain faltered, "There's a bit of an issue with the Mobile Suits."

"What is it?"

"There's a lock on both O.S.'s that we can't analyze," the Captain said, "At the moment, activation of either Mobile Suits is impossible."

"What?"

"Right now, we're doing what we can," he added, "Our engineers are doing their best to crack it."

-----------------------------

"Distance from Artemis, 3500. No change in the beam array." As the Gamow continued to move away from the space fortress, Nicol went over a few last minute checks on the Blitz's technical specifications.

"Mirage Colloid, checking electrical voltage. Systems all green," Nicol muttered and then sighed, "For now, all I can do is take a gamble and hope it plays off."

"You know, I have to say," Yzak commented from the observation deck, "I never would have thought I'd ever hear Nicol coming up with a plan."

"Well, if there's one good thing that I can think of about the Earth Alliance, it's that they sure know how to make some pretty unorthodox stuff," Dearka said with a grin as the klaxons blared and the locks holding the Blitz in place snapped off, "And that system suits Nicol well; it's pretty fit for a coward."

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"Attention! Attention please!" Ryo heard someone announce, "I would like to know the whereabouts of the pilots of the ship's Mobile Suits and the engineers." He looked and suppressed a groan of disgust when he saw that it was Commander Garcia and a few other officers entering the cafeteria.

"The pilots and engineers!" the officer behind him repeated, "You should be in here!"

"He looks uglier in person," Ryo thought but then saw Kira about to stand and quickly reached over to pull him down as Murdoch held his shoulders. "Are you crazy?!" he whispered to the brunette, "Don't do anything!"

"Can I ask why you need us?" Neumann asked, approaching them, "Is there a problem?"

"What did you say?" the officer growled, grabbing his collar.

"Is it because the Captain didn't mention them?" Neumann asked, "Or is it because they wouldn't tell you?" At this, Kira suddenly realized just why Mu had told him to lock the O.S of the Strike with Ryo.

"No, it's just that I know that the crew members of the Archangel are elite personnel specially selected for a top secret mission," Garcia replied, gesturing for the officer to back off.

"What do you want with the Strike and X?" Neumann frowned.

"Nothing, really," Garcia replied, "I simply feel privileged to see those two Mobile Suits before they formally enter combat. Now, I'll ask again, who are the two responsible for piloting the two Mobile Suits?"

"Lieutenant Flaga is the pilot for Strike," Murdoch replied, trying his best to lie, "We yet to find a pilot for the X. If you have any questions, ask him."

"Heh, nice try, but I've been monitoring the previous battles and even I know for a fact that that the only one who can handle a Mobius Zero with such precision is him," Garcia frowned, "And I also know that the X had entered combat as well, so I know that there are two more!" Ryo could tell that he was getting nasty now and was proven correct when he walked over to Milly and yanked her up from her seat by the arm, inciting a protest from Tolle. "I wouldn't believe that she's the pilot," he said, glaring at her, "But then again, the captain is a woman, so it's possible…" Milly winced as his grip tightened and Ryo felt his temper rising as Kira again tried to stand up.

"You know what? Screw what I said," Ryo growled so that only Kira could hear him, "I'm giving him a piece of my mind…" Without another word, he got up and pushed off of the table before planting his heel into Garcia's face, effectively forcing him to let go of Miriallia. "That's quite enough," he frowned before turning to Miriallia, "You alright?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," she smiled, "Nice kick, though."

"You…" Garcia snarled as he got up, "Just who the hell do you think you are!"

"What? I thought you were looking for X's pilot," Ryo said before pointing his thumb at himself, "Well you're looking at him!"

"I'm a pilot too!" Kira announced and stood up, "I pilot the Strike!" As this was going on, the Gamow had now pulled out of the Artemis' sensor range.

"Routine report, no enemies detected within the defense area."

"Alright then," the commander nodded, "Shut down the defense array in all directions. Switch to Level 2 battle alert." Within moments, the brilliant glow surrounding Artemis faded away, exposing the asteroid. This move was immediately detected by the distant Gamow and its linear catapult opened.

"The Umbrella has been deactivated," Zelman said, "The linear catapult is ready. Go ahead, Nicol."

"Right," Nicol said and took a deep breath, "Nicol Amalfi, Blitz, lifting off!" With that, the Blitz was propelled into space and its black Phase Shift armor activated. "Okay, here goes nothing," Nicol thought and pressed a button on the controls. The Blitz slowly began to turn grey as a gas-like substance spread over it. Moments later, it became completely transparent as the Phase Shift armor shut down and the Mirage Colloid took over; the Gundam was completely invisible in seconds. "Mirage Colloid creation successful," he muttered, nodding in satisfaction, "Spread loss at 35. Now then, I've can only use this for eighty minutes, so I'd better make it count." With that, the Blitz slowly glided towards Artemis, a virtual ghost in space. Meanwhile, Garcia had now recovered and was moving towards Kira, who had just spoken up.

"You kids think you're funny, huh?" Garcia said, "I suppose you two are just trying to protect her…those Mobile Suits aren't meant for brats like you!" He made to punch Kira in the face but the brunette easily dodged and grabbed his arm before flipping him over his shoulder.

"You've got no right to attack me!" Kira exclaimed, "Leave us alone!"

"Come on you two, get a grip," Murdoch muttered, trying to calm to two pilots down, "Don't resist…"

"You little…!" Garcia's companion officer exclaimed and grabbed Kira's collar.

"Hey let him go!" Sai shouted and moved to help Kira but got backhanded in the face.

"Sai!" Flay cried and caught him, "Are you okay!"

"Leave them out of this!" Ryo snarled and slammed his knuckles into the officer's cheek, sending him spinning into a wall.

"Stop! They're telling the truth!" Flay said as Sai readjusted his glasses, "They're the pilots!"

"Flay…" Ryo hissed, "That's enough…"

"They're not lying!" she added, ignoring the pilot, "They can operate those things because they're Coordinators!" Ryo flinched and heard the others groan behind him as the rest of the room went dead silent.

"Ah crap…" he muttered as Murdoch facepalmed, "Way to go, Flay."

"Coordinators?" Garcia asked as he fixed his cap, "Interesting. Bring them with us." With that, he had the other officers escort the two Coordinators out of the cafeteria and to the Mobile Suit hangar, both at gunpoint.

"Flay, I can't believe you just did that!" Tolle shouted when the officers were gone, "How could you tell them that Kira and Ryo are Coordinators! Do you have any idea what might happen to them now!"

"Well, it's the truth," she huffed as she held an icepack to a bruise that was forming on Sai's cheek, "Besides, they're on our side and we're in an Earth Alliance base, aren't we? I don't see what the problem is."

"Flay, who the hell do you think Earth Alliance is fighting against?!" Tolle snapped and that was when realization dawned on Flay.

"Poor Ryo and Kira," Tiffa sighed in worry, "I hope they'll be okay." Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo had been escorted into the dock and were standing in front of the Strike and X Gundams.

"So you're saying that you want us to disable the lock on the control systems?" Ryo asked as Kira glanced towards several technicians standing nearby, "Do you have any idea how long it took us to put the stupid things _on_?" Several officers whispered to one another before Garcia broke the silence.

"That's for starters," he said, "You should be able to do a lot more things as well."

"Such as?" Kira frowned.

"Analyze this Mobile Suit and make another one," Garcia told them, "Or at least a weapon that can stand up to it."

"Hey, do we look like veteran mechanics to you?" Ryo replied irritably, "We're civilian students! It would take months to develop one of these!"

"Besides, we're not even officially employed by the military," Kira added, "There's no reason for us to do such a thing!"

"We know that," Garcia answered, "But you're both traitors to your own kind for siding with us!"

"A-a traitor?" Ryo thought as the words sunk in, "I'm not…wait, what if he's right? What if I really have betrayed the Coordinators? I already did during the Bloody Valentine…but that was an accident! I didn't mean to…" By now, his hands were clenched into fists and shaking as he struggled to resist the urge to punch the Commander in the face.

"I'm not sure why the two of you betrayed the Coordinators," Garcia said, "For you…"

"That's not it!" Kira argued, "We're not…"

"It's very rare for a Coordinator to be in the Earth Forces," Garcia told them, "But don't worry about it, you'll be forgiven. In Eurasia, at least."

"Well, not like we have much of a choice," Ryo thought bitterly as the two were led to their cockpits and then held at gun point as they activated the controls, "Now, I wonder how long I can stall until Blitz comes to blow this place up…" Half an hour passed and by then, the mood of the fortress had become relatively dull, with everyone on the ship waiting for the head officers and pilots to return and the crew of Artemis chatting idly about their own lives. At that moment, the Blitz slipped past the range of the Umbrella's generators and its Mirage Colloid flickered a bit, indicating that its time was almost up. At the controls, Nicol quickly selected a target and fired multiple shots from the Blitz's Trikeros shield. The resulting explosions shook the base and startled everyone.

"Control Center, what are these tremors?!" Garcia shouted into an intercom.

"We don't know! There's nothing in the area!"

"You idiot! These are explosions!" Garcia growled, "Something's attacking us!"

"It might be a long-range attack!" an officer exclaimed, "Raise the Umbrella now!" Outside, Nicol spotted one of the generators deploying and deactivated the Mirage Colloid, replacing it with the Phase Shift armor.

"Is that it?" he wondered as he activated a Trikeros shield's beam saber, "One way to find out…" Charging forward, the Blitz raised the blade and swung down, cleaving the generator in two.

"Sir! We've detected a Mobile Suit attacking the outer defenses!"

"The generators are being destroyed! We can't activate the Umbrella!"

"Shoot down that Mobile Suit!" Garcia ordered, "Launch all Mobius units!" This was a mistake; Nicol saw the opening port and flew towards it, entering the Artemis.

"Blitz is inside the Artemis!" the Gamow captain announced, "Launch Duel and Buster!" Within minutes, the other two Gundams were launched and headed for the Artemis to assist Nicol. Meanwhile, the commotion had reached the Archangel and now everyone was confused.

"What's going on?" Neumann asked a guard, "What was that rumbling sound?"

"Um…well…"

"You don't know?" Tonomura added as he approached with Murdoch and Chandra.

"Go ask someone!" Neumann demanded, "Whatever way you look at it, this is an attack!" All of a sudden, he shoved past the officers and took off running.

"Halt!" the guards shouted and raised their weapons but were stopped when Tonomura, Chandra, Sai, and Tolle jumped onto them. Having subdued the guards, the crew rushed for the bridge and passed by several Eurasian technicians who were hurrying to get out as the guards left for their battle stations.

"Start up the engines!" Neumann told the rest of the crew, being the highest ranking officer on the ship at the time, "We're getting out of here!"

"What about the captain and the others?" Milly asked as she took her seat.

"If we wait for them, we'll be sitting ducks," Neumann replied, "We can only hope that they get here in time." At that moment, the senior officers had heard the noise and Mu began formulating a plan.

"Dammit, we're under attack," he muttered and then suddenly started yelling, "Ahh! The explosion opened a crack in the wall! We're losing air…!" He glanced over to Murrue and Natarle before adding, "Quick! Start shouting! That'll make them open the door!"

"Right," Murrue nodded and then joined Mu by screaming for the guards to open the door. As this was going on, Natarle watched with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Good lord, have you both lost your minds?" she blinked before a guard came in only to be promptly knocked out by Mu and the same thing happened to a second guard who came in shortly after.

"We'd better get back to the ship," Murrue said as they left the room, "I personally don't want to go down with the Artemis."

"Oh, I understand now," Natarle said, a bit embarrassed, "Sorry about that, Lieutenant Ramius." As the Blitz wrecked havoc inside the dock, Ryo saw that the officers were fairly preoccupied with wondering how the Umbrella was taken out and used that opportunity to close his hatch while Kira kicked away the nearby officers and closed his. Activating all of the systems, the two of them moved their Gundams to the catapults to prepare for launch.

"What are you doing?! You traitors!" they heard Garcia yell at us as they reached it.

"We're under attack!" Kira replied hotly, "We don't have time for your nonsense!"

"Nice one, Kira," Ryo smirked as Garcia and the other officers returned to the Artemis and the Gundams were locked down into the catapults, "Combat Control, this is Ryo speaking; are you there, Milly?"

"Nice to see that you two made it," Milly smiled through the comm., "Kira, you'll be launching in Sword Striker mode."

"Right," Kira nodded, "Standing by for equipment loading!" Panels opened up on both sides of Strike and mechanical arms attached the Sword Striker pack to it.

"We don't have room to use the catapults, so you'll have to move out on your own," Miriallia told them, "Good luck you two!"

"Right!" Ryo nodded and the X flew out of the ship with the Strike close by.

"I can't believe how far in the Blitz has already gotten…" Kira muttered before he spotted a black Mobile Suit heading towards them, "Ryo, look!"

"It's them!" Nicol thought, "This time, I'll get them for sure!" With that, he launched the Blitz's Gleipnir piercer lock and the Sword Strike retaliated with its Panzer Eisen rocket anchor. The two grappling devices intercepted one another and then bounced off of themselves.

"Dammit, even here…" Kira muttered and drew the Sword Strike's Schwert Gewehr anti-ship sword before chasing after the Blitz. Meanwhile, the Duel and Buster had entered firing range and the two pilots readied their weapons.

"That guy…" Yzak snarled, referring to the Strike, "I know he's in there!"

"Save it, Yzak," Dearka grinned, "We've got a fortress to destroy!" Meanwhile, the senior officers had returned to the Archangel and everyone was quite relieved to see them back.

"Captain!"

"Hey, kids," Mu grinned as he patted Sai and Miriallia on the head, "Good work!"

"Thanks," Sai smiled, "But what's with this place?"

"We can't use our weapons in here," Murrue said, "Raise the Archangel!" At her command, the Archangel's main thrusters started up and the ship began to rise, easily tearing itself loose from the mechanical arms that held it in place. Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were effectively holding the Blitz at bay but the former was still being tormented by the words that Garcia had told him earlier.

"Damn it!" he shouted, "Leave us alone!" While the X provided covering fire from behind, Kira charged the Blitz in the Sword Strike. Seeing this, Nicol launched all three of the Blitz's lancer darts but the Strike dodged the first two and sliced the third in half, destroying it, before resuming its chase. Outside, Buster and Duel were busy shooting down any Mobius' that came their way and this greatly frustrated Garcia, who was on the viewing deck.

"What are you doing?! Launch the ships!" he ordered, "There's no way that one Laurasia-class can destroy the whole base" Just then, Buster gunned down another Mobius and sent it careening out of control, causing it to crash into the viewing deck and a ball of fire erupted from the window.

"Where's the ship?" Dearka asked as explosions began to flare up all around them.

"I don't know," Yzak frowned, glancing around, "Nicol, what's your position?" As Yzak tried to contact Nicol, the Archangel had turned around and Murrue issued the order for Strike and X to pull back.

"Start the engines!" Murrue ordered, "We'll use the opposite exit to escape from Artemis!"

"Kira, Ryo!" Miriallia called out, "We're leaving!"

"Come on, Kira!" Ryo said, "Time to put our tails between our legs and get the hell out of here!" Kira smiled a bit at the remark and the two headed back.

"Running away?" Nicol frowned and tried to follow but was then cut off by a sudden explosion nearby. It occurred to him then that now was not the time to be chasing after the Legged Ship and instead turned his efforts towards escaping.

"There!" Kira said as the two emerged from a fireball and headed towards the fleeing ship, touching down and securing themselves to the hull.

"Strike and X have safely landed."

"Good," Murrue nodded, "Launch Archangel! Engines at maximum velocity!" The white ship shot out of the port, narrowly escaping the explosion that tore apart the innards of Artemis moments later. Not far behind, the Duel, Buster, and Blitz emerged from the flames as well, the pilots casting one last glance at the disappearing Archangel before hurrying back to the Gamow. Moments later, Artemis was consumed in a flash of light and all that remained of the once invincible fortress was smoldering chunks of debris.

-----------------------------

"Well, that's the end of that," Ryo thought as he exited the X's cockpit, "What a complete waste of time." Turning, he saw Kira exiting his own cockpit and went over to join him as the brunette went to the floor of the hangar.

"Hey! Kid!" Mu called out from near the door he was standing by with Murdoch but Kira ignored them both and exited the hangar without a word. "What's eating him?" he blinked and Murdoch shrugged before he turned to Ryo.

"I don't think you'd understand," the other pilot sighed and shook his head before leaving to go after Kira. He spotted him heading inside his room and followed him in just in time to see him flop down onto the bed. "Hey, Kira," Ryo said, moving a bit closer, "You okay?"

"Yeah…" Kira muttered, "Just…need some rest, that's all."

"Well, alright," Ryo nodded, "I'll see you later, I guess." When he didn't get a reply, he left and shut the door after him, leaving Kira in the dark to cry himself to sleep.

-Phase 06: End


	8. The Scar of Space

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 07- The Scar of Space

_February 3, C.E. 71, PLANT, L5 Colony Cluster_

"Guidance beam broadcasted, docking request to the 4th Rigging Station transmitted. Aligning to assigned vector, beacon broadcast confirmed."

"Trajectory correction 0.3 Mark, 16.2 Delta; rotating the ship 180 degrees, commencing deceleration." Having retreated from the disastrous first battle against the Archangel, the Vesalius had returned to the PLANT homeland after Rau received orders to report to the PLANT Supreme Council.

"You're bringing Athrun Zala with you?" Ades asked as the ship moved backwards.

"Yes, Ades," the masked commander nodded, "After all, he was present at the attack as well and is the kind of person who can provide a calm, objective analysis."

"ORB is outraged at the incident, you know," Ades told him, "They're starting a planet-wide protest."

"We should be concerned about our own perspectives on the problem," Rau replied simply, "Now, I expect the Vesailius to be fully repaired and stocked by the time Athrun and I return. Even if this is a temporary break, I'm afraid there's no time for us to relax."

"Yes sir."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, elsewhere in space, the crew of the Archangel was discussing their current problem while keeping an eye out for more enemy ships.

"Reconfirming," Tonomura announced, "No enemy vessels detected within a 500 meter radius. Looks like we've finally lost them."

"I guess the guys at Artemis managed to confuse the enemy enough for us to get away," Mu said, "If there's one thing I'm grateful for, it's that."

"But still, even though we did manage to escape from the Laurasia-class," Murrue replied, "We haven't resolved our own problems yet." In the cafeteria, Sai, Tolle, and Flay were discussing a somewhat relevant subject.

"Sai," Flay pouted, "Do I have to?"

"Flay, come on, you should at least apologize to them for what you said earlier," Sai told her, "It's the least you can do."

"Yeah," Tolle nodded, "They got into quite a bit of trouble because of it."

"I was just telling the truth," she argued, "How was I supposed to know that they'd get in trouble for it?"

"Even though we're used to it, it's still pretty odd for other people," Tolle said, "Them being Coordinators and all."

"Well, you should at least say you're sorry," Sai replied, "If you don't, you'll probably feel uncomfortable passing by them in the hallways and every time you see them for that matter."

"Fine, I'll apologize," Flay finally sighed, "If you insist, Sai."

"By the way," Tolle said, changing the subject, "What's it going to be like on the ship now?"

"We managed to get away from the ZAFT before the Artemis exploded," Sai replied, "But in the end, we never did get re-supplied. And ZAFT's probably gonna be coming after us again." Out in the hall, Ryo was heading walking about when he ran into Miriallia.

"Oh, Ryo," Milly smiled, "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to go bug Kira until he wakes up," he replied, "He's been asleep ever since we left the Artemis." With that, he left with a wave and headed down the corridors until he stopped in front of Kira's room. He looked in and saw that he was tossing and turning in his sleep, apparently having a nightmare of some kind. "Hey, Kira, wake up," he said, poking him in the ribs, "Come on, buddy, you've been asleep for long enough." It was no good, the brunette Coordinator kept on sleeping and Ryo kept jabbing him in the side with his finger. Finally, Ryo grew irritated and he took a deep breath before shouting into his ear, "KIRA! WAKE UP _NOW_!!" At this, Kira woke up with a start, sweating and breathing heavily. "About time you got up," Ryo mused, clearing his throat "That must've been some nightmare if you couldn't even hear me. What was it about?"

"Wanna guess?"

"Sure; you were fighting against Duel, your Phase Shift went down, and then Aegis didn't get you out of the way and then you died," he said, knowing fully well what he had seen.

"Yep, that's it," Kira sighed, rubbing his eyes, "And the controls kept jabbing into my side for some reason…"

"Controls?" Ryo mused, "That was me trying to wake you up!"

"Oh," Kira said, slightly peeved, "Well, I might as well go and do some stuff with the Strike now that I'm awake…"

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By now, the Vesalius had successfully docked with one of the many fitting stations orbiting the colony. As repairs began, a shuttle attached itself to an airlock and a guard standing by the door saluted Rau and Athrun as they boarded it. Once inside, however, they were greeted by an unexpected but familiar face.

"I hope you will not mind our presence," Rau said as he and Athrun snapped quick salutes to the figure, "National Defense Chairman Zala."

"Dispense with the formalities, Commander," the Chairman replied, "No one else is to know that I'm on this shuttle anyway. Is that clear, Athrun?"

"Yes, sir, father," Athrun replied, "It's been a while." The seated figure was the chairman of the National Defense Committee, Patrick Zala. At 46, he was just slightly past his prime and the few grey hairs on his head showed it. His wife, and Athrun's mother, Lenore Zala had been at Junius Seven visiting a friend when the Bloody Valentine had occurred. Following this, Patrick had developed a strong sense of hatred towards the Naturals and now lead the radical party of the PLANT Supreme Council, who supported increasing the war efforts against the Earth Forces.

"I agree with what you stated in your report," Athrun heard him say to Rau at one point, "Our main concern is that they have developed their own Mobile Suits that possess much power. The identity of the pilot is no matter, I will see to it."

"I thank you," Rau nodded, "I had a feeling you would say something along those lines."

"Saying that the pilot of the last unit is in fact a Coordinator would give the conservatives the time they need to come up with more excuses," Patrick told him, "And that would in turn put a major dent in our plans."

"Having to report that a friend from you childhood has become an enemy," Rau suddenly said to Athrun, "It would have been difficult, no?"

"Well, not exactly…"

"The report will simply say that the Strike is a very effective weapon, even when piloted by a Natural," Patrick suddenly interrupted, "You do realize, son, that we must take the situation very seriously if we are to bring a quick end to the war?"

"Yes, father," Athrun nodded but thought to himself as the elder Zala turned away, "I wonder if father would still be the same…if mother was still around."

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"Um, Tolle?" Kuzzey blinked, "Are you…okay?"

"W-water!" Tolle gagged, pounding his chest in an attempt to dislodge a piece of bread stuck in his throat, "Need…water!"

"Oh, Tolle," Miriallia sighed but handed Tolle her cup, "Here, you can have mine…"

"Thanks," Tolle gasped after gulping down the drink, "But I think I could use some more…"

"Tolle, stop it," Sai told him sternly, "This isn't the time to be messing around."

"I wasn't!" Tolle argued as Sai sat down next to Flay. Much to everyone else's surprise, however, she moved away from him and when he moved closer, she moved farther.

"Flay, what's wrong?" Miriallia asked, "Is something bugging you?"

"Well, when I tried to go into the shower room a while ago," Flay began, "That guy, Chandra I think, he said it was off limits because of a water shortage, so I haven't been able to take a shower since yesterday." This much was true. Having been unable to take in any supplies, including water, everyone on the ship now had to ration out everything. What was most needed was water and so now it was distributed at a minimum; they were only allowed half a cup per meal and any appliances that used water were now off limits.

"Oh come on, Flay," Tolle sighed, having expected a better reason, "I'm sure you can go without a shower for a week or so."

"You kidding…?" Sai thought in amusement as a look of utmost shock and revulsion came across her face.

"W-what are you saying! If I don't shower at least twice a day, then I can't go on living!" Flay screeched, pointing a finger at him, "To even suggest not taking a shower…! Tolle, you're a real dirtbag!"

"W-who are you calling a dirtbag?!" he stammered, momentarily forgetting about his food and the others suppressed their laughter at the look on his face, "I can go without showering for a while just fine!"

"You're a guy!" Flay argued, "It comes naturally to you!"

"What comes naturally to guys?" a voice asked and everyone looked to see Ryo and Kira entering the cafeteria. There was a brief pause before he asked them, "What? Are we missing something here?"

"Oh, hey guys," Tolle said, his previous mood forgotten, "You done working on maintenance?"

"Yeah," Kira sighed, "But thanks to the water shortage we couldn't clean the parts with the machine. It was a real pain, scrubbing them by hand and all." While the others nodded at this, Flay sighed and then Sai nudged her in the side and then jerked his head towards the two Coordinators. Heaving another sigh, she stood up and faced them, much to their surprise.

"Um, Kira? Ryo?"

"Yes Flay?" Kira blinked, "What is it?"

"Um, well, you see," Flay started, "I just wanted to apologize for what I said yesterday; I know it was wrong of me to blurt out that fact in front of everyone, but…"

"Damn straight…" Ryo thought to himself but didn't say anything out loud.

"What fact?" Kira blinked.

"Well, at Artemis," Flay said, "When I told everyone you were Coordinators."

"Oh," Kira frowned but then brightened up immediately afterward, "It's okay, don't worry about. We forgive you."

"Actually, it's more like 'he' forgives you while 'I' still hate your guts," Ryo said mentally but just shrugged and said out loud, "Yeah, it's all cool. Besides, it was the truth anyway, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," she smiled serenely, "Thanks."

"No problem," Kira nodded, returning the smile before thinking aloud, "I wonder how the senior officers are going to deal with the water shortage, though…" At this, Ryo's face fell slightly and he fidgeted a little.

"You'd never know…" he answered, shifting his gaze at the floor. Meanwhile, Kira's question was being answered on the deck, where the crew was meeting to discuss their current course.

"Is there really no other way?" Natarle asked, "There has to be a better route than this."

"No," Neumann replied and pointed at the guidance system, "Going too close to Earth might land us right in the Debris Belt"

"But if we take that route," Mu frowned, "We'll actually make it to the Moon faster."

"Is there any way of breaking through?" Murrue asked.

"Through the Debris Belt?" Neumann blinked incredulously, "At our velocity, we'll end up as part of the debris ourselves if we hit anything. It's best if we stayed away from it."

"It's nothing but a bunch of discarded materials that's accumulated ever since humans began to freely explore space," Mu commented, "It's true we don't want to become part of it, but…wait a sec'." At that moment, Mu was struck by inspiration and a small grin formed across his face as he played his new plan through his head.

"Lieutenant Flaga?" Murrue asked, noticing his odd behavior, "What is it?"

"I think," he smiled, still wearing an odd distracted look on his face as he left his seat, "That I may be able to make the impossible, possible."

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Back at PLANT, Rau and Athrun had entered the Aprilius One colony, the designated capital of the PLANT colonies. Currently, the two officers were taking an elevator that shot through the central support of the colony to the other side, with Rau sitting and Athrun standing nearby while the two watched the news on the thoughtfully-included television.

"And in our next story," the newscaster said, "Chairman Clyne was present today at the press conference regarding the first anniversary of the Junius Seven tragedy."

"So, that's your fiancé, Athrun?" Rau asked as they watched a screen in the elevator they were taking down to the conference room and the blue-haired Coordinator nodded. The Commander was referring to a girl with pink hair standing next to the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne, who was currently addressing the audience about the anniversary of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy on a news broadcast, "It's quite a coincidence that she is the representative of the memorial delegation. Her name is Lacus, isn't it?" Another nod from Athrun.

"You know, your marriage to her will be a beacon for the next generation," he added, "You both carry the bloodlines of Zala and Clyne with you. Yes, I'm sure the new generation will be a glorious one."

"That was…kind of you, sir," Athrun sighed, "Thank you."

"You do realize that it is our duty to do whatever it takes in order to protect that next generation," Rau finally concluded and Athrun felt a bit unsure at those words. After about fifteen minutes, the two found themselves seated with the PLANT Supreme Council and the meeting was about to begin.

"We shall now commence the emergency inquiry commission into the destruction of the ORB Union's colony, Heliopolis," Siegel Clyne announced and then looked at the two, "First off, Commander Rau le Creuset! Let's hear your report on the matter."

"Yes sir!" the Commander nodded and stood up to salute the Chairman.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"What! That's it!" Flay exclaimed.

"Flay, it was hard enough getting this much!" Miriallia groaned in exasperation, gesturing to the small tub of water in front of them in the women's shower room.

"That's not enough to wash my hair…" Flay complained.

"Of course not!" Miriallia replied, "You should be grateful that there's enough to wash your face!"

"Flay, she's right," Tiffa nodded, "We're not even supposed to be using this, it's all we have left."

"Thank you," Miriallia nodded while Flay continued to complain before reaching for a table behind her, "Here, I brought a change of underwear too."

"W-what's this!" she gaped, her jaw almost dropping when she took them, "You've gotta be kidding me! There's no way in hell that I'm gonna wear these kiddy panties!"

"Look, I not too fond of them either, but there's nothing we can do about it! They're army issue supplies!" Miriallia replied, now thoroughly annoyed at Flay's vanity,

"You're gonna have to either get used to them or just wear the same dirty underwear!"

"Ugh…" Flay groaned, looking down at the garments in her hand with disgust.

"Come on, you two, off with your clothes!"(a/n- I know what you're thinking and it's not what you think it means! Sick perverts…) the older girl said, unbuckling her belt, "This room is supposed to be off limits but they're making an exception for us." "God, I sure am glad the Captain's a woman…" she thought.

"Ung! Won't this stupid door open manually?" Tolle grunted as he gave another fruitless tug on the door.

"Ooooh…Miriallia…" Kuzzey thought and his face reddened as he crouched near the door.

"Uh, guys…we really shouldn't be doing this…" Sai said for the umpteenth time and his own face turned red as well. While Tolle tried to get the door to the shower room open manually with Kuzzey's "help", he was stuck standing watch so that no one would walk in on them. The problem was, they were talking a bit loud and it wasn't long before the girls inside heard them.

"Ugh, how awful…stuck on this stupid ship," Flay groaned.

"Well, would you rather still be stuck on that broken down life pod instead?" Miriallia asked, rolling her eyes and thinking, "I can't believe her!" Just then, Tiffa turned to the door and a look of panic came to her eyes. "Tiffa? What's wrong?"

"S-someone's at the door," she replied, "I think they're trying to get in…" The three of them stopped talking and sure enough, they heard the boys outside arguing.

"Sai, can't you get through this lock somehow?" Tolle asked.

"I'm telling you, I can't!"

"Well, what if you search through all the electronic lock numbers?" he asked while Kuzzey tried to peek in though the crack in the door.

"Tolle, no one can do that sort of thing except for Kira and Ryo," Sai answered and because of this, failed to notice the two Coordinators walking up to them with Mu.

"Sai...Tolle…Kuzzey?" Kira thought out loud, "What are they doing here?"

"Oh boy," Ryo groaned, "There's gonna be trouble, I just know it."

"Um, hey guys," Mu said, trying to look around Tolle to see just what they were doing, "What are you three up to?" Ryo tried to restrain a laugh as Tolle's jaw dropped almost to the floor and the three of them turned around in complete surprise.

"WAAUGH! Kira! Ryo! L-Lieutenant Flaga!" Tolle stammered, putting on a very unconvincing smile, "What a surprise!"

"Tolle, are you-"

"Nope! Nothing at all! Excuse us! Gotta run or we'll be late!" With that, the three of them took off down the hallway so fast it took the three of them a second or two to grasp what had just happened.

"Well, that was…odd," Mu blinked, raising an eyebrow, "What's gotten into them?"

"Beats me," Kira shrugged, still staring at the spot where the three had disappeared to, "Any ideas Ryo?"

"Don't look at me," Ryo replied, also shrugging, "All I wanted to ask him was if he was done with that book I lent him last week. Maybe he tore a page and he was afraid I would get mad at him. I mean come on, it's just a book! I could just get another one!" He was suddenly interrupted by a splash coming from inside the room they were standing in front of, causing the three of them to quickly turn to it.

"Hmm, this room is off limits," Mu said, "Why's there someone inside then?"

"Um, Lieutenant Flaga, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ryo suddenly said.

"Why?" he asked as he went up to check who was inside.

"I just think it's a really bad idea," he explained.

"Relax, kid," Mu smiled, "I of all people should know whether a room on this ship is dangerous or not. Why do you think this one's so bad?"

"Lieutenant, wait!" Ryo exclaimed warningly, trying to make a grab for his hand, "That's the-"

"Hey, open up!" Mu called out, knocking on the door a few times, "You're not supposed to use any water!" A second later, the door opened and then there was a great splash as someone from inside threw a basinful of water at him.

"Women's…shower…room…" Ryo finished slowly as him and Kira both sweat dropped.

"Gee, thanks for telling me so soon," Mu grumbled sarcastically, blinking some water out of his eyes as he rolled them.

"You pervert!" Miriallia shouted as she stepped into view, "You'd better leave us alone or I'm gonna get mad!"

"You're already mad…" Flay thought and sighed behind her while Tiffa ducked behind Flay to conceal herself, even though the three of them were wearing towels.

"Wh-what's going on here…?" Mu asked, soaking wet from the chest up and blinking as he sweat dropped as well while Kira gawked at the barely covered females standing in front of him and blushed madly.

"L-Lieutenant Flaga!" Miriallia exclaimed and in her surprise, she accidentally dropped her towel.

"Agh! I'm blind! I've been scarred for life! The sight has been burned into my mind for all eternity!" Ryo shouted, putting his hands over his eyes and thrashing around on the spot, "Oh woe! Woe for my poor eyes, stripped of their virginity so soon! Ah the pain! Repent! Repe-" BAM "Ow! Son of a…what the hell was that all about!"

"Ryo, you're starting to scare me," Flay said as the basin clanged onto the floor after it had made contact with Ryo's head.

"Jeez, I was just messing around!" he grimaced, rubbing the sore spot, "You didn't have to throw a basin at me!"

"Yeah well, just don't do that again," Miriallia sighed, she had already recovered her towel, "Wait, I'm forgetting something…oh yeah. KYAAAHH!"

"W-wait a second!" Ryo exclaimed as she advanced towards them, "Hold on, what're you gonna-" SMACK "Ah crap! Run!"

_Twenty minutes later…_

"Unbelievable…" Natarle sighed, shaking her head in disappointment, "Especially for you, Lieutenant Flaga…"

"What are you accusing _me_ of!" Mu demanded, one of his eyes twitching, his uniform now dry. The entire crew was now on the bridge, including the students (and all of them were properly dressed, mind you), and they were all being given a long lecture from Natarle. While she was droning on and on about how peeping was such a despicable act, the students were all thinking different thoughts, though all of them still bore stinging red hand prints on their cheeks, including Mu.

"Ooh…now Flay must hate me for sure…"

"Crap…I didn't even get to see a thing…"

"I wish I saw something…"

"Why me…?"

"The pain…it burns…I never knew Mir had such an arm…I'd better not cross her when she's having a bad day in the future…"

"Usually, sexual harassment on a battleship results in a court martial!" Natarle said, jerking all of them back into their senses.

"A c-court martial!" Tolle stammered.

"That's enough, Ensign," Murrue suddenly interrupted.

"But we can't just overlook the fact that-"

"Their behavior was certainly immodest, but they're really not official soldiers," she explained, "And now that we're about to plunge into the Debris Belt, we really don't have time for such trivialities."

"The Debris Belt? I've heard rumors about it," Sai frowned, "Isn't that where the Earth's gravitational pull drags space wreckage into a ring around it?"

"You're a smart one," Mu nodded, "That's exactly where we're going. Since there are ruins of vessels here, we should be able to re-supply ourselves."

"But taking something that isn't ours," Ryo interrupted, suddenly looking downcast, "Isn't that like robbing a dead man of his valuables?" The room went quiet as the others pondered his words.

"We will only be taking necessities that are we are in immediate need of," Murrue said a few minutes later, "We'll leave anything that belongs to other people alone."

"But still…"

"We don't have much of a choice," Mu interrupted, "If we don't get supplies now, we won't be able to hold out much longer."

"We want you guys to help out," Murrue added, "We have some Mistrals on board that we can use to bring everything back to the ship."

"I'm not too happy about it myself," Natarle said, "But this is our only chance to get re-supplied. We need to do what we can if we're to keep living."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Our intentions were never to attack Heliopolis itself; in fact, it was the Earth Alliance that instigated the collapse of the colony," Rau concluded, "So, based on my report, I hope that it is apparent that we were in no way at fault. That is all I have to say."

"I can't believe it…ORB and the Earth Forces were cooperating. Developing new Mobile Suits…"

"Commander Creuset, was obtaining those Mobile Suits worth all the sacrifices made the ZAFT soldiers?" Chairman Zala asked, trying to stay on the subject.

"I believe the report that you are about to hear from Athrun Zala will answer that," Rau replied before nodding to Athrun, who stood up, "After all, he is the pilot of one of the units that we captured and has also engaged the final two units in battle."

"During the mission, we managed to capture four of the six units developed by the Earth Alliance: the GAT-X102 Duel, GAT-X103 Buster, GAT-X206 Blitz, and the GAT-X303 Aegis, which I pilot. The last two are the GAT-X105 Strike and another unknown unit." With that, he proceeded to explain the technical statistics of the units and by the time he was finished, most of the council members were outraged.

"This is clearly an act of war by ORB!"

"Silence!"

"But what about Representative Atha of ORB!"

"The words of an Earthling cannot be trusted!"

"SILENCE!"

"The Naturals are trying to expand the scope of the war!"

"But they're still in the testing phase! What could they do with only six?"

"At this point, they're only a step away from mass-production! Are you saying that we should wait for that to happen and then act?"

"What will we gain through continuously fighting…"

"THERE IS NO ONE HERE WHO WISHES TO FIGHT!" Patrick Zala finally shouted.

"Chairman Zala…"

"Who among us enjoys going to war?" he asked, more calmly, "We wish to live in peace and harmony…that is our hope…" Suddenly, he stood up forcefully from his chair and continued, "But who is it that has brutally smashed that hope?! Who has continued to exploit us, suppressing us for their own personal gain and desire !" Silence. "Who will never let us forget the assassination of the first Coordinator George Glenn, the Copernicus attacks, and the tragedy of Junius Seven, the Bloody Valentine?!" he said, "243,721…that's how many Coordinators were lost on that horrific day one year ago. And yet now, we only request the bare minimum for ending the war quickly while the Naturals ignore all of our efforts! We must fight in order to protect ourselves! If fighting is the only way we can survive, then we have no choice but to fight!"

"Father…" Athrun thought, shocked by his words while Rau simply smirked and let out a small chuckle. Siegel Clyne, on the other hand, shook his head in disappointment as well as some of the other council members. Later, as the members left the building, the Chairman finally had a chance to speak to Athrun, who saluted him at once but he quickly said that there was no need for ceremony.

"It's a shame, really," he said, "You're finally back and now my daughter Lacus is away working."

"She sent me mail," Athrun replied, "She told me that she was going to visit the ruins of Junius Seven with her Memorial Service Troop."

"Engaged to be married, and yet…" Siegel sighed, "You never seem to get the chance to see each other…"

"My apologies, Honorable Chairman."

"There's no need," Siegel laughed before pausing, "It's about to get hectic again…I agree with your father, and yet-"

"Athrun!" Rau suddenly said as he approached with Athrun's father, "We will be resuming our pursuit of the Legged Ship soon with Lockney and Pole's teams. Be ready to depart in 72 hours."

"Yes sir."

"Please excuse us, Chairman Clyne," Rau added and with that, he left with Athrun after the two of them saluted him, leaving Siegel alone with Patrick.

"We don't have much time left," Siegel said, "Why are we expanding the war over such trivial things?"

"Because we can never forgive the Naturals," Patrick replied, "We must eliminate all who would stand in our way!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"The Archangel is now entering the Debris Belt!"

"Alert, 360 degrees, all directions. Watch out for all the debris!"

"After the Strike and X Gundams have launched, prepare the Mistrals for launch as well!"

"Hey, you feeling okay, kid?" Murdoch asked Ryo as he hesitated near his cockpit, "You're looking a little edgy."

"I…" Ryo stammered, "I…I can't do this…"

"What? What's the matter?" Murdoch joked, "You can take on two Mobile Suits at once but you can't go out for a little scavenger hunt?"

"Y-you wouldn't understand," he frowned, "This place…it brings back a lot of memories…a lot of bad memories, that is…"

"Look, we're just here to get supplies, it'll be over before you know it."

"I guess you're right," he sighed, "Well, I'd better get going…" Saying that, he climbed into his cockpit and strapped himself in before proceeding to the launch catapult.

"Strike Gundam, launch!"

"X Gundam, launch!"

"Lieutenant Flaga's right," Murrue thought, "If we look at it differently, the Debris Belt is like a treasure trove…food, water, ammunition, it's got everything…"

"Captain! Large object sighted ahead!" Petty Officer Pal suddenly announced and the entire crew looked up at the screen before their eyes widened in shock.

"W-what is that!" Sai asked.

"I've heard that the wreckage of Junius Seven drifted into the Debris Belt…" Mu frowned, "It's almost like a grave marker in space…" Out in space, the pilots were also in shock but Ryo's reaction was much more different.

"M-my home…" he whispered, "I-I…did this?" It was a mess, broken bits of the colony floated around everywhere and there was a gaping hole in the base where the Satellite Cannon had torn through. As he maneuvered around the debris, memories of what the colony looked like before came flooding into his mind and he gripped his head with his hands, trying to drive them out. "We're just here for supplies…" he told himself, "We're not here to take anything that isn't ours…just what we need to survive…"

"Traitor…"

"Murderer..."

"Why…?"

"Wh-what the?" he thought and looked around, "Who's saying that?" Suddenly, the world went dark and he could only see himself while pale ghosts floated around him, moaning and reaching out to him. "S-stay away! What do you want!" he stammered, "My mind…get out of my mind!"

"Ryo? Ryo!" someone shouted over his radio and he snapped back into reality, breathing hard, "You okay in there? You're pretty far behind."

"I-I'm fine," he replied shakily, "I'll be right with you…" Meanwhile, Natarle was leading a small search party as they combed through abandoned buildings looking for supplies. Most of them were shelters and a lot of them contained rather nasty sights; everything was floating around and that included dead bodies. This was too much for Miriallia and she was scared to the point of tears by the time the left.

"Ensign, over here!"

"What is it?" Natarle asked but stopped when she saw that it was a room filled with bodies, "W-what happened here…?"

"It looks like they committed group suicide before they ran out of oxygen…"

"Ensign, look! Isn't that the X Gundam?" She turned and sure enough, the X Gundam had landed near a building that looked like a home and then shut down before Ryo climbed out of the cockpit.

"What is he doing?" she wondered out loud, "Come on, let's go see." Meanwhile, Ryo stood on the chunk of land that supported the empty house in front of him. However, he knew that it wasn't an ordinary house, because this had once been the house that he had lived in before the Bloody Valentine. Steeling up his nerves, he walked into the door and looked around as his brain slowly recognized every detail. Several servants were floating around in the living room, apparently in the middle of their duties when they died. Shaking his head, he went upstairs and into his old room. Not much had changed, all of his old possessions were still there even if they were floating around the room but other than that, he quickly left as he had lost interest. As he passed his parent's room, however, he felt a sudden urge to go in and slowly entered the room. He gasped when he saw his mother lying in bed and that was when he remembered. Before he had run off, his mother had been ill and a doctor had been on the way to see her.

"H-hey, mom…" he said quietly, "I'm home…" Silence reigned through the room as he stood in the doorway and stared at her lifeless form, dully noticing a lump forming in his throat and a stinging feeling in his eyes. "Mom…" he whispered and floated over to her side before taking one of her hands in his trembling one. It was cold; all the warmth it once possessed was gone. "Oh mom…" he sighed and shook his head, a few tears escaping from his eyes, "I'm…so sorry…I let…I let you down…I let dad down…I let everyone down…and now this stupid war's going on all because I was…I was…I was such a freakin' idiot!" At this, his knees buckled beneath him and he knelt on the floor grasping the covers tightly with his free hand. "What do you think of me now, mom?" he asked, his eyes squeezed shut, "I'm all grown up…I'm in the army…and I'm fighting to end this war…hell, I even saw my friend nude a few hours ago…" All of a sudden, his throat became too choked for him to make a sound. "Dammit, mom, it wasn't supposed to be this way…" he whispered and then screamed, "You hear me! It wasn't supposed to be like this! I just wanted to freakin' protect my home and what do I do instead! I blew it up! Why! Why me! I-It's not fair! Is this really my destiny! To just kill everyone that I care for! Well I hate it! I freakin'…hate it…" As his hand moved, however, it knocked into something and he looked up to see what it was. It was just a music box but nonetheless, he opened it and was amazed when soft notes began to play; the thing still worked.

"After all this time…" he thought, "How is it still in such good condition?" Ryo recognized the music as "Masquerade", which had been his mother's favorite piece from the play "Phantom of the Opera", which he had enjoyed once himself. "Masquerade…" he sang softly along with the tune, "Many faces on parade…masquerade…hide your face so the world will never find you…" Just hearing the notes made him choke up again and he shut his eyes as he knelt there in the middle of the floor and held the open music box, listening to the music play. The box had once been his mother's most prized possession and first, he was compelled to set it next to her so that she would have it forever but then something stopped him. He took one look at his mother's pale face and it was as if she was telling him to take it with him. "Are you sure it's okay?" he asked quietly, "You always loved this thing more than any of your other belongings…I won't take it unless it's your desire for me to do so…" At that moment, he could have sworn he saw the pale lips twitch into a very small smile and he knew the answer. "Thanks, mom," he nodded tearfully, "I-I'll take good care of this…I promise…"

"Ryo? What are you doing in here?" Hearing the new voice, he turned and saw that Natarle and Miriallia were standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Ensign Badgiruel, Miriallia," he said, looking away so that they couldn't see his face, "I…I just…"

"Ryo, what's wrong?" Miriallia asked and walked up to him, "You've been acting weird ever since we got here, what's the matter?"

"You…" he stammered, "You wouldn't…it's just complicated, alright?"

"Well, aren't you the one who suggested that we leave personal belongings should be left behind?" Natarle asked, folding her arms and looking at the music box in his hands, which was still open.

"Ensign, this is very personal…" he replied, "It…it was…"

"What? What is it?"

"It was…it was my mother's…" He couldn't hold it in any longer; he collapsed on his knees and broke down in tears while Mir tried to comfort him, clutching the now closed box to tightly to his chest.

"What are you talking about, how…?" Natarle asked but then something caught Miriallia's eye and she stood up for a bit before taking a picture frame off of a shelf. She gasped when she saw Ryo in the picture as well as the same woman that was lying in the bed before them and after a moment of thinking, everything clicked together.

"Ryo…" she said sadly, looking down at him, "Is this…your home?" Ryo could only nod briefly and Miriallia couldn't help but shed a few of her own tears before she knelt down to comfort her friend. As for Natarle, she stood frozen in shock for a minute before she regained her composure and knelt down before giving him a few reassuring pats on the back, the closest she would give to a hug.

"I-I'm sorry…that you have to see me like this…" Ryo finally sniffed, shaking his head and assuming a sitting position, "But I just…"

"I understand," Natarle nodded, "For you to grieve over the loss of a loved one is completely normal."

"Not just her…" Ryo replied, standing up, "Everyone…all this…everything was my fault…"

"What are you saying?"

"The Bloody Valentine Tragedy…wasn't caused by the Blue Cosmos…" he said, "It…it was me…"

"What! Ryo, this isn't something to joke about!"

"I'm not, just hear me out," he replied, "The X Gundam, it was developed by ZAFT on this colony but-"

"How's the inspection of the colony coming, Ensign Badgiruel?"

"W-we haven't found anything remotely useful yet," she replied, surprised by the Captain's interruption, "We'll be taking a closer look."

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it."

"We can discuss this later," Natarle said to the two, "Right now, we'd better leave." The two students nodded but as Natarle turned to leave, Ryo looked down at the box in his hands and then at his mother's body.

"Miss Badgiruel…" he suddenly said, "Please…let me bring this back to the ship…it's all that I have left…"

"Very well," she nodded, "I will tell the Captain that it's an important personal belonging."

"Thank you," Ryo nodded and smiled a bit.

"Ryo, I'm really sorry, this must be-" Miriallia began to say but Ryo cut her off with a hand gesture.

"It's nothing, really," he said and left, although she could see that he was still visually troubled. While this was happening, a discussion was being held over the radios discussing the issue of water.

"We're going to take water from here?" Kira asked, "But Captain, that colony is where thousands lost there lives! Using it is…"

"Junius Seven has over ten billion tons of frozen water floating around," Murrue replied calmly, "And this is the only place where we've been able to find any."

"No one's exactly cheering about this," Mu added, "Shouting 'We've found water!' or anything."

"Lieutenant Flaga…"

"If it was possible, we'd avoid taking anything from this place altogether," Mu said, "But we don't have a choice. We're alive, and sometimes we have to do some things that we're not to proud of to stay alive."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, on PLANT, Athrun was driving Rau to the apartment they would be staying in. Along the way, he saw large screens displaying Lacus' face while she sang. At the same time, the song was playing on the radio and Athrun recognized it as one of Lacus' first songs.

_In this quiet night,_

_I'm waiting for you._

_Here in my head,_

_I'm dreaming of you._

_Time passes by,_

_And memories fade._

_But time can't erase_

_The love that we've made._

After arriving at the apartment, he stopped to let Rau out before heading off to the shuttle port to rent a small craft to head to another colony.

_And the stars in the sky that I wish upon_

_Can't bring you back to my side._

_Though you're not here with me,_

_I dream of a day we'll meet again._

Aboard the Archangel, Flay and some of the civilian children were making paper flowers and later on the bridge, all of the officers stood by solemnly as Miriallia, who had gathered the flowers, and a few other students standing on an asteroid tossed them into space, allowing the zero-gravity to scatter them everywhere amongst the ruins as tribute to those who had perished. The two Gundams stood behind them, their Phase Shift Armor still deactivated while the pilots watched sadly, Ryo still had tears in his eyes from before.

_Hold me close so deep in your heart._

_I will find you no matter how I must go._

_And dream of me, for I will be there._

_Follow the stars that lead…_

Back on PLANT, Athrun stood over his a grave holding a small bouquet of flowers. Engraved on the tombstone was the name "Lenore Zala" and Athrun sighed before setting the flowers down upon the grave. Thinking about his father's words one last time, he shook his head and left.

_Into the quiet night…_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"How much longer will it take?" Murrue asked as the Mistrals were busy sawing through chunks of ice.

"All we need is four more hours to extract the ice and other materials," Tonomura replied, "Restocking our ammunition should only take one hour." Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were out patrolling the ruins when suddenly, Kira spotted a damaged civilian vessel.

"Ryo, look!" he said and pointed it out, "There's a civilian ship over there!"

"Leave it alone, it's been taken out, possibly years ago," Ryo replied and then zoomed in on it, "Let's see…silver…wind…'Silverwind'! That must be it's name…wait, Kira, I'm picking up something else on my sensors…" He waited and then something moved into the camera. "Kira! That's a Long-Range Reconnaissance Ginn!" he exclaimed, "What's it doing all the way out here?"

"This is bad," Kira said, "The Archangel is still immobile. If the Ginn detects us and calls in reinforcements…"

"We can't take that chance," Ryo interrupted, "Get a lock on it but don't shoot yet, let's watch and see what happens." Of course, Ryo knew exactly what was going to happen but he didn't say anything until he saw something else. "Hey, Kira, I think I see something moving," he said, "I think it's…the pilot!"

"Yeah, you're right, I can see it too," Kira nodded, "Wait…Ryo, the pilot's a woman!"

"I can see that, Kira," Ryo replied, rolling his eyes at the obviousness of the fact.

"That's right…there were people inside these Mobile Suits that I destroyed before…" Kira thought as he remembered his previous battles, "I'm at war…and I must kill?" By now, Ryo had locked onto the Ginn with X Gundam's beam rifle and Kira did the same, though he was a bit reluctant as they activated their Phase Shift Armor. "Go! Get out of here…please…" he thought, sweating a little, his finger twitching on the trigger, "Don't make me shoot you down…I don't want to kill anymore…" After a few minutes of waiting, the pilot got back into the Ginn and left, which caused Kira to let out the breath that he had been holding in relief. "Great!" he thought happily.

"Well," Ryo blinked, slightly surprised, "I guess thing's will go okay after all!" At that moment, however, one of the Mistrals carrying a crate of supplies flew by and the Ginn's sensors detected it, prompting its pilot to turn around to look. "On second thought…" Ryo grimaced and tightened his hold on the controls.

"Dammit, you fool!" Kira cried out, "Don't come out!" It was too late, the Ginn had spotted the Mistral and shot at it with its sniper rifle, scoring a hit and shaking it a little. "Stop!" Kira shouted, "Please, don't!" Even while he said that, the targeting rings merged and turned red and a burst of green energy tore through the Ginn's left arm. Startled, the pilot aimed its rifle at the Strike but never managed to fire before both of them finished it with a shot through the cockpit, causing it to explode in a ball of fire.

"Thanks…for saving me…you guys…" Kuzzey's voice panted over the radio.

"Kira? What's going on out there?" Mu asked over the radio, "Ryo, is everything alright?" Kira had already shut off his radio and then slammed his fist onto the controls.

"Ugh! I didn't want to shoot it down…" he cursed but then his sensors reacted again and he looked to see something else, "Ryo! There's a life pod floating around near the civilian ship! We should bring it back to the Archangel!"

"I dunno, Kira. The last time we brought one aboard, we ended up finding Flay and so far, she hasn't been much help," Ryo said but then added, "But I guess we can give it a try. Who knows? Maybe this person will actually turn out to be pretty okay." Saying that, the two flew forward and retrieved the pod before bringing it back to the ship. Twenty minutes later, the crew had gathered in the hangar as Murdoch worked on opening the pod.

"A one-man life pod…" he muttered as he tapped the keys, "And the fact that a Ginn came out this far to search for it…"

"There must be an important ZAFT personage on board," Mu stated.

"You and your life pods," Natarle said, shaking her head, "I swear, the two of you have really developed a habit of picking up things that have been left behind."

"Um…that was a joke…right?" Ryo asked, blinking a bit.

"Yes, Ryo Mouri," Natarle smiled, "I was joking."

"Well, I guess that's one for the books then!" he laughed and the others chuckled at this.

"Alright, I'm opening the pod," Murdoch announced and a few crew members raised their weapons and pointed them at the door as it opened. For a second, there was nothing and then, the silence was broken when a voice that Ryo recognized echoed through the room.

"Greetings! Haro, Haro…" voice said and at that moment, a small, pink ball the size of a grapefruit came flapping out of the pod, causing most of the crew to stare at it in bewilderment, "Haro, Lacus!"

"What the hell?" Ryo gaped, raising an eyebrow, as it went past them, "If that's the 'very important ZAFT personage' that Ginn came all the way out here to retrieve, then…" He was suddenly cut off when the Haro came at him and started to circle around his head, babbling its random chatter.

"Thank you for your assistance!" a sweet, grateful sounding voice said behind them and they quickly switched their attention from the pink robot that was now flying around Ryo. All of them were amazed when they saw that it was a strange pink-haired girl floating out of the life pod.

"Oy…" Ryo thought, "What've we gotten ourselves into?"

-Phase 07: End


	9. The Enemy Songstress

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 08- The Enemy Songstress

For a few moments, I stared along with the rest of the crew at the new girl who came floating out of the pod.

"Hello! Hello Lacus!" the Haro that kept on buzzing around me shouted and I was sorely tempted to swat at it.

"Oh, how rude of me!" she said when she realized that she couldn't stop as she floated over our heads and then tried to turn back.

"What are you waiting for, Kira?" I whispered, as he was the closest to her, "Help her down!" He snapped back to his senses and reached out before taking her hand and pulling her down to the floor.

"Thank you very much!" she smiled and I suppressed a chuckle as he blushed and smiled back. It was then that she noticed the uniforms that we were wearing and then smiled before saying, "Well, I guess this isn't a ZAFT ship after all!"

"Haro! Haro!" The pink robot exclaimed and I groaned and then saw Natarle put her face in her hand out of exasperation.

"Oh, there you are, Mr. Pink!" Lacus chirped and reached up and grabbed her robot out of the air.

"Umm…pardon me?" Murrue asked.

"Uhh…w-welcome!" Kira said, still blushing and I shook my head again, I could see that the others were either confused, exasperated from the stupidity of it all, or just plain amused.

"You know…" I suddenly said, "You look…familiar…"

"Oh, have we met?" she asked, turning to me.

"No, but I've definitely seen you from somewhere," I frowned, "I just can't remember your name…"

"You…know her?" Kira asked, looking surprised.

"Just from appearance," I replied, "Oh well, I'm sure the rest will come back later on…"

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_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"Oh great," Athrun sighed, disturbed from the bliss he had momentarily been in a few minutes ago, "Now what?" Frowning, he stepped out of the shower and dried off before putting on a robe and answering the phone, "Athrun Zala speaking."

"Good to hear from you, Mr. Zala," the voice over the other line replied, "We have received word that the Vesailius will be departing at eighteen hundred hours tomorrow."

"Acknowledged, Zala out," he nodded and hung up. Bored, he sat down on the couch and turned on the news.

"Earlier today, it was confirmed that the Memorial Service Troop has disappeared within the vicinity of the Debris Belt," the reporter stated, "The Silverwind has not yet returned from its voyage and so the ZAFT army has begun mobilizing a search party. Among the missing is the daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne and PLANT pop-star, Lacus Clyne. The search will be conducted by ZAFT's Creuset team…" Athrun didn't listen to the rest, as he was too shocked to hear any more words.

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"Thank you again for retrieving my life pod," the mysterious girl smiled.

"It was nothing, really," Murrue replied, "Now, can you please tell us your name?" The three senior officers had brought the newcomer into a small room for questioning and just outside the door; the students had crowded around it trying to hear the conversation.

"What are they saying?"

"Ssh! Shut up or Badgiruel's gonna hear us!"

"My name is Lacus Clyne," she said before holding up the small round robot, "And this is my Haro, Mr. Pink."

"Haro! Haro! What's up?" the Haro chanted. Murrue sighed at this and Mu put his face in his hand. All of a sudden, Natarle went to the door and opened it, startling all of the students except for Kira and Ryo, who were just walking up at that moment.

"What are you all doing out here?" she asked, looking down at them dangerously, "Get back to your posts!" The students immediately ran for the deck but before Natarle closed the door, Kira and Ryo looked into the room and saw Lacus, who smiled and gave a small wave to them. Kira blushed and hurried on but Ryo gave her a small nod before hurrying off after Kira. Once they were gone, Natarle sighed and closed the door.

"Clyne, huh?" Mu said thoughtfully, "You wouldn't happen to know the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne, would you?"

"Yes, I do!" she smiled, "Siegel Clyne is my father; do you know him?" This caused Mu to plant his face in his palm again out of exasperation.

"Um, Miss Clyne," Murrue started, "May I ask why someone of your political status is all the way out here in the middle of the Debris Belt?"

"Well, you see, my ship was doing a preliminary assessment of the ruins of Junius Seven for the memorial services," Lacus began, "We encountered an Earth Forces ship and were boarded for inspection. When they asked us why we were here, they became angry and the crew put me in an escape pod. And then when the pod was open, I was here!"

"That's…terrible…" Murrue thought.

"What about your ship?" Mu asked, "What happened to it?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, "But I do hope that the crew is alright and that things have been settled diplomatically."

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"Father, Commander Creuset," Athrun acknowledged, saluting his father and commander, "I was just curious, why is the Vesailius being sent after Lacus?"

"My, you have a cold heart, Athrun," Rau smirked, "It's only natural that we search for her."

"But nothing's been verified yet!" Athrun argued, "It's a civilian ship, it should be safe from harm!"

"The Ginn that we sent out to investigate has not returned either," Rau replied, "And the Gamow lost the Legged Ship near the Debris Belt, which is where the ruins of Junius Seven have been dragged. Why don't you think and put two and two together, Athrun?"

"Athrun, as you and Lacus are to be married, this clearly involves you," his father said, "And since this involves you, it involves the entire Creuset Team."

"So, you want me to just go and then come back playing the hero?" Athrun asked when his father left.

"It's either that…" Rau said with a cold smirk, "Or make a public display of weeping over her dead body." Athrun was surprised and Rau added, "Either way, Athrun, your father feels that it's your duty to go." At this, Athrun frowned but nonetheless boarded the ship.

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Out in space, the Archangel was finally leaving the Debris Belt, much to the relief of the crew and passengers. Lacus had been escorted to a private room and there, she sat on the floor with only her Haro as company.

"Haro! Are you okay?" it said, "Fight, Lacus! Shouldn't do that!"

"Why don't we pray for the souls of all of the people that are gone, Mr. Pink?" Lacus asked and the robot let loose a small torrent of chatter as she smiled. Out in the hallway, Kira and Ryo talked but Kira's thoughts kept on drifting back to the Ginn that was destroyed earlier.

"It must have been just looking for Lacus," he thought, "I can't believe I shot it down…"

"Hey, Kira," Ryo said, "Something on your mind?"

"N-no, it's nothing…" he said and Ryo frowned. He knew what Kira was thinking about and he too had things on his mind. But at the moment, he didn't want to think about it and so decided to lighten the mood up.

"Yeah, right," he grinned, "I bet you're thinking about that chick we found, Lacus, aren't you?"

"W-what!" Kira stammered, all thoughts about the Ginn forgotten, "N-no! It wasn't that!"

"Ah come on, Kira, don't try to hide it!" Ryo laughed, "I know you like her! I don't blame you either, she is kind of cute."

"Well…I guess she's alright…" Kira replied thoughtfully, "But…but that doesn't matter! That doesn't mean that I like her!"

"Yeah, well," Ryo grinned, "Don't come running to me for advice when you wanna start dating her…I don't know anything about it either…"

"Oh shut up," Kira grumbled and Ryo just laughed until they heard voices coming from the cafeteria.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Ryo asked as the two entered to findsome ofthe other students standing in there, with a very pissed looking Flay in the middle.

"Well, you see," Kuzzey began, "Mir asked Flay to take a meal to that new girl, Lacus, but she won't do it and now they're getting into this big argument about it."

"For the last time!" Flay shouted, "There is no way that I'm gonna go anywhere near a Coordinator!" Ticked, Ryo cleared his throat irritably and this caught Flay's attention before she remembered that there were Coordinators in the room. "Well…except for you three!" she stammered, gesturing to Tiffa as well, "You guys are on our side…so you're okay. Besides, Coordinators are so much smarter and they have better reflexes…what if I get attacked?"

"You have no idea of how much I wanna do that," Ryo thought as Kira looked a bit unsure and Tiffa did the same.

"Flay, you won't get attacked!" she said, "Coordinator's aren't animals, you know! Just look at the three in this room!"

"Besides, I can't really see you getting attacked by someone like Lacus," Kuzzey pointed out, "I mean, she looks nice enough…"

"Just because she acts nice, doesn't mean that she really is!" Flay protested, "What if she's really strong!"

"Excuse me," a voice asked from the door, "But who's this 'really strong' person that you're talking about?" Everyone spun around and saw to their surprise that Lacus was standing in the doorway. Meanwhile on the bridge, the crew was discussing their current situation.

"Of all the people we could have picked up…Siegel Clyne's daughter. This puts us in quite a jam," Mu sighed, "First our problems are with supplies and now we've got one in the form of a pink haired princess. Looks like Kira and Ryo brought in another hell of a gal."

"We've got no choice but to keep her until we reach the Lunar Headquarters, unless we drop her off at an Earth Alliance base along the way," Murrue said, "But they'll just use her as a hostage and I don't want to put her through that kind of thing…she's only a civilian, after all."

"May I remind you, Captain, that you have already involved several other civilian children in the war already?" Natarle replied, "This is Siegel Clyne's daughter we're dealing with, not some ordinary civilian." Back in the cafeteria, the students were quite startled by Lacus' sudden appearance.

"Well…I guess this means the escort forgot to lock the door!" Ryo said, trying to make a joke.

"Sorry for the commotion, everyone," she apologized, "But I was a little hungry, so I was wondering if I could get something to eat here."

"How can we just let someone from ZAFT walk around the ship freely?" Flay asked angrily.

"I called from my room, but no one would answer," she replied, "Oh, I'm sorry, I never introduced myself; I'm Lacus Clyne."

"You're from ZAFT, that's what you are!" Flay snapped and everyone cringed, they could see that there was already tension in the room.

"ZAFT stands for Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty and even though I'm a Coordinator," Lacus replied, seeming undaunted by the remark, "I'm technically not in the military so to speak, just like you technically aren't with the Earth Forces. So in a way, we're both the same." The room was quiet and everyone could tell that Flay was furious by now. "I apologize for the late greeting," Lacus smiled and offered her hand, "I-"

"No! Shut up and stop that!" Flay shouted, "Coordinators and Naturals will never be the same! I don't want any Coordinators trying to be friendly with me!" That did it, Ryo felt his anger peak and he slammed his fist onto a table, leaving a large crack in it when he did.

"That does it!" he snarled, "Ever since this whole thing started, I've put up with all your crap about how much you hate Coordinators every waking hour that I'm near you! Well you know what! Naturals aren't exactly that great either! Hell, neither race is perfect! So why do you have to be so god damn stubborn over this!"

"Ryo, please," Tiffa said, "Don't be mad…I'm sure it's just…"

"Well, excuse me!" Flay snapped, rounding on the black haired pilot, "But I don't remember ever asking for your opinion on this, you freak!"

"Yeah? So what if I'm a freak? I like myself just the way I am and people like me that way too!" Ryo retorted, jabbing a finger at her, "Because at least I'm not a selfish, whiny, self-centered, spoiled rotten bitch who's of absolutely no use at all like you!" The room went silent again; everyone else was too shocked to move while Ryo was still fuming. None of them had ever seen him this angry before and it startled them to see that tears were forming in his onyx eyes. "Do you honestly believe…that I enjoy this war just because I'm a Coordinator!" he asked, "Do you think Kira enjoys it! Or Tiffa! Or Lacus! No, we don't! We all hate it just as much as the rest of the crew! You're just too caught up being racist against Coordinators to even realize that!" More silence. "This war…took away my home and my family," he said, his breathing was heavy now, "Do you think that after all that, I'd enjoy something like this!" Only Tiffa and Miriallia understood while the others looked on at him in bewilderment until finally, Ryo stormed out of the room.

"Well, Flay, I certainly hope you're happy," Miriallia huffed as she handed Kira a tray of food, "Here, this is for Lacus. Bring her back to her room and please lock the door."

"S-sure," Kira nodded, "Come on, Miss Clyne." After the two left, the room fell silent again.

"Flay," Kuzzey suddenly said, "You're…not a member of Blue Cosmos, are you?"

"No," she replied, "But I certainly think they're right, fiddling with human genetics is a despicable thing."

"Well, just remember, Kira and Ryo are Coordinators too," Kuzzey said, "They just make it look easy with those Mobile Suits that they pilot." Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Kira and Lacus walked past several open doors and some of the civilians looked out and recognized Lacus.

"Hey, there goes the daughter of ZAFT's top dog."

"Crap! Thanks to her and her kind, Heliopolis is gone…"

"We're at war because you Coordinators exist!" Kira sighed at the comments and then passed by another open door and found Ryo sitting on the floor inside, his knees folded to his chest as while staring at a small music box on the floor as it played its soft notes.

"Ryo? Are you okay?" Kira asked, entering the room and Lacus followed, "Look, don't let Flay get to you, I'm sure-"

"Pfft, her? Get to me? Ha!" Ryo said with a bitter smile, "Never, it's you two that I'm worried about…and Tiffa."

"Why's that?" Lacus asked, sitting down in front of him.

"I'm more used to being discriminated against," he replied, still staring at the music box, "After a while, you sort of develop an immunity to it." There was more silence before he smiled and said, "But…enough of the past, let's focus on now. Lacus, was it?"

"Yes," she nodded, smiling again.

"So that's where I remember you from; you're the famous pop-star, right?" he asked, looking up.

"Yes, that's me," she said, "I'm surprised that someone in the Earth Forces would know that."

"You're a pop-star?" Kira asked, surprised, "Th-that's incredible!"

"Thank you," she smiled before turning to Ryo, "So, how did you recognize my name?"

"I used to live in PLANT before I moved to Heliopolis," Ryo said, "I really like your songs."

"You're too kind," she giggled, "But tell me, which colony did you originally come from?"

"Well…I…don't really remember," he said, suddenly looking uncomfortable and glancing back down at the music box, "There are so many and, well, it's a little hard to keep track."

"Oh, I see," she replied, "Say, I think I recognize this tune. It's from 'Phantom of the Opera', isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," he nodded, "You've seen it?"

"Of course! It's my favorite play!" Lacus said excitedly, "I just love the story…have you seen it?" This last question was directed to Kira and he blushed as a surprised look came on his face.

"Um, not really," he replied sheepishly, "But I want to, though, I've just never gotten around to seeing it."

"Well, no use in sitting around here," Ryo said, getting up, "We can talk on the way to your room, Miss Clyne."

"Oh please, just call me Lacus," she smiled, "It's much more comfortable, Mr.…"

"Well, this here's my very good pal Kira Yamato; who, if I might add, was one of the top students in our science class back on Heliopolis," Ryo said, deciding to hand the spotlight over to Kira.

"Um, well, that's-" Kira began but Ryo gave him a sharp nudge in the ribs.

"Shut up, I'm doing you a favor here," he whispered and Kira didn't say anything else.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yamato," Lacus smiled, "And you are…"

"Me? Oh, well, I'm just your regular Coordinator, nothing special about me," Ryo said, "Kira and I serve as Mobile Suit pilots aboard this ship and he was the one that retrieved your pod. The name's Ryo Mouri, by the way."

"Mouri?" she asked thoughtfully, "Now where have I heard that name before?" After a minute or so, she said, "Oh, I remember now! Was your father's name Oliver Mouri?"

"Y-yeah," Ryo nodded, "Why?"

"He was a good friend of my father's," Lacus smiled, "I think we have met before…I believe it was a business party a few years ago." Ryo thought and then remembered a picture he had once found of him and his father standing next to a pink haired girl with her father and then it all clicked.

"Oh, right, the party," he said, "Loads of fun, yeah, I remember it now."

"You sound upset, Mr. Mouri," she stated, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," Ryo quickly replied, "Well, here we are." They entered the room and Kira set her tray down on the table.

"Please don't leave the room again, I'll come by to pick up your tray later," he said, "If you need anything else, please use the intercom over there."

"Thank you," she nodded, "But am I really not allowed outside? I would much rather eat in the company of other people."

"I apologize, but this is an Earth Forces ship," Kira sighed, "And there are people aboard who don't look very kindly towards Coordinators."

"But both of you are nice to me," she said, "And your friends to don't to mind me too much either."

"Well…" Kira paused before taking a deep breath and adding, "Ryo and I…we're both Coordinators too."

"No," she smiled, shaking her head, "I think that you're kind to me because that's the kind of people that you are." This surprised Kira a bit and he blushed while Ryo only sighed and shuffled his feet a bit.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you, Miss Lacus," Ryo finally said, "But Kira and I still have work to do…we'll stop by later to check on you." Lacus nodded and waved as the two left and shut the door. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the ship, Tolle came running down to the cafeteria and found Miriallia, who pulled him aside.

"I heard shouting coming from here," he said, "What's wrong?"

"It's Flay," Mir sighed, "She was rude towards Lacus and then she got into a big shouting match with Ryo; both of them looked about ready to kill each other. And I don't think that Flay's gonna apologize this time." At the same time, Sai found Kira and Ryo coming down the hall and quickly went up to them.

"Mir told me what happened," he said, "You two okay?"

"Just fine," Ryo nodded and Kira nodded in assent as well.

"Look, don't let what Flay said get to you," Sai told them putting a hand on Kira's shoulder, "I'll have a talk with her later." It was about then that they heard Lacus singing from her room and the three stopped talking for a bit to listen. "Wow, she has a beautiful voice," Sai commented, "I wonder if it's from having her genes modified?"

"I don't think so," Ryo said, "After all, some things just come naturally, you know?"

"I guess," he replied with a shrug, "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

"Alright! I'm starving!" Ryo grinned, "Come on, Kira! It's chow time!" Kira laughed and followed his two friends down the hall, all of his troubles forgotten for the time being.

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"Captain, I'm picking up an incoming transmission!" Petty Officer Pal announced, "It's…it's from the 8th Fleet!"

"At last, some good news!" Mu sighed, "If we can link up with them, we'll be home free!" Murrue nodded but she had other reasons for being happy. She had always shared a special bond with the 8th Fleet's leader, Admiral Halberton, a well known officer in the Earth Forces. Meanwhile, elsewhere in space, the Vesailius continued its search for the missing Lacus Clyne, not knowing that she was already safe.

"Captain Ades, is there a problem?" Rau asked.

"We've detected a fleet of ships off in the distance," the Captain replied, "They appear to be from the Earth Force's 8th Fleet. What they're doing out here, though…"

"The Legged Ship would have come this way if they were going from Artemis to the Lunar Headquarters," Rau answered, "Those other ships are probably here to re-supply or escort the Legged Ship to the base. Have they detected us yet?"

"No, sir."

"Good, then we'll keep an eye on them while searching for Miss Clyne's ship," Rau smirked, "After all, why should one girl ruin the chance for us to find the Legged Ship?" This earned him an odd, almost suspicious look from the Captain. Meanwhile, Athrun was sitting in the viewing bay and staring out into space.

"They're out there somewhere," he muttered, referring to Lacus and Kira, "I'm sure I'll see them again." Back to the Archangel, which had changed its course for the 8th Fleet, Sai was talking to Flay.

"I just found out that your dad is on the advance fleet's main flagship," he smiled, "Since the Captain already forwarded the list of crew members and passengers, he's bound to know that you're here." This pleased Flay greatly, she even forgot about her anger towards Lacus for a while. At the same time, Kira and Ryo were heading down to the hangar, where Murdoch had called for them.

"I just thought I'd tell you that some adjustments have been made to the Strike and X Gundam's OS and I was hoping that the two of you would check them out," he explained, "Well, not that it matters much, anyway, since it's pretty much all over with Mobile Suits for the two of you."

"I sure hope that it's over," Kira sighed, relieved by the news.

"You have no idea how far it is from over, Kira," Ryo thought and sighed, looking up at the X Gundam. Meanwhile, Lacus sat in her room, playing with her Haro as it rolled around on the table.

"I have an idea, let's play a game, Mr. Pink," she smiled, "Okay, where do you think we're going?"

"Haro! Lacus! Athrun!" the robot chanted and bounced around on the table. Lacus simply shook her head and giggled softly at its antics.

-Phase 08: End


	10. The Disappearing Light

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 09- The Disappearing Light

As Milly walked down the hallway, she heard noise coming from the cafeteria and then saw that it was packed with civilians. All of them were talking happily about the future rendezvous with the 8th Fleet and she smiled as she went on. Entering the shower room, she was surprised to see Flay inside dressed only in her undergarments with something white on her face.

"Um…Flay?" she asked, "What are you doing? And what's that stuff all over your face?"

"Just a facial mask," Flay replied, peeling it off and rubbing her cheeks a little, "As the daughter of the Vice-Minister of the Atlantic Alliance, I can't afford to be a mess. He's aboard one of those ships, you know." Miriallia just sighed and headed into a shower. "I just wish I could do something about my hair," Flay added as the brunette took her clothes off and turned the water on, "But I suppose this will just have to do with us being in an emergency situation and all." Milly shook her head and rolled her eyes, bored of Flay's talking about herself. On the bridge, the crew was standing by as a message appeared from the main flagship Montgomery, which was being escorted by the ships Law and Bernard. Currently, the screen showed the Montgomery's Captain and a second man sitting next to him.

"Greetings, Archangel," the second man said, "My name is George Allster, I'm the Vice-Minister of the Atlantic Alliance. I'd like to personally thank you for rescuing the civilians from Heliopolis and I must say, I was quite surprised when I saw my daughter's name on the passenger list." At this, Murrue looked up in surprise, distracted from the drink that she was holding in her hand at the moment. "I was wondering if it was possible for me to see her face before the rendezvous," he added.

"Vice-Minister Allster, I'm sure that you will be able to see your daughter afterwards soon enough," the Captain of the Montgomery replied.

"Well, that's Flay's dad to you," Sai remarked when the message had ended. Meanwhile, in the Mobile Suit dock, Kira and Ryo were both working on their respective Mobile Suits when Murdoch went into the Strike's cockpit to check on Kira.

"Hey, kid," he said, "What are you up to this time?"

"Just calibrating the offset and adjusting some other things," Kira replied, looking up from his work, "Mr. Murdoch, are the Strike and X Gundams really going to be needed anymore after this?"

"Well, it's your job and Ryo's until we've carefully rendezvoused," Murdoch laughed, "Heck, the two of you can stay after that if you want."

"It's no joke," Kira muttered to himself after Murdoch left to check on the other pilot.

"Well, Ryo, what are you doing?" he asked, "Calibrating the offset like Kira?"

"Actually," Ryo said, "I'm trying to see if I can program the Scylla Cannon on this thing so that it can be used while it's in Mobile Suit mode, 'cause it gets kind of annoying to just switch back and forth, you know what I mean?"

"Ah, I hear ya, kid," Murdoch smiled before adding, "Say, don't take this as an insult or anything, but to me, you look almost exactly like Kira, except your eyes and hair are different colors." Ryo blinked before glancing at a reflective screen and then that was when he realized just how similar he was in appearance to his friend.

"Hey…you're right," he said and chuckled, "Wow, I guess we have more in common that I thought!"

"I guess so," Murdoch grinned. The happy mood was all throughout the ship. Lacus sang a song of peace in her room and elsewhere, Mu drifted around in a sleeping bag, taking a nice long nap after the day's work. Back in the hangar, Ryo and Murdoch left the X Gundam's cockpit and then Ryo popped into the Strike's cockpit.

"Hey, Kira, guess what?" he asked.

"Yeah? What is it"? Kira said, looking up again.

"Have you ever noticed just how much we look alike?" Ryo said and then held up a small mirror was lying on the walkway so that Kira could look. After looking for a few seconds, Kira's violet eyes widened in surprise and he laughed as well.

"Hey, I never noticed that!" he smiled, "Wow, today really is a weird day!"

"You bet! I feel so good, I could just sing!" Ryo grinned before pulling Kira out of the cockpit, "Come on! Let's go do something fun!"

"H-hey! What're we…"

"I've got a deck of cards in my room somewhere," Ryo said, still smiling, "After we get it, let's round up the others and then I'll teach you guys to play Big 2!"

"Big…2?"

"Yup! Greatest card game since poker!" the black haired Coordinator replied, dragging Kira out of the hangar, "Well…it technically is poker, but who cares? It's fun anyway!" Kira laughed at his friend's enthusiasm and let him pull him through the hallways, which received them quite a few stares from passing by personnel.

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"The Legged Ship is currently en route towards the 8th Fleet," Ades said, "It's obvious that they mean to rendezvous with them in order to either re-supply or to gain an escort to the Lunar Headquarters."

"Either way, we cannot allow them to join together," Rau frowned, "If they do, we will have lost all hope for capturing the Legged Ship before it reaches the Lunar Base."

"Does this mean that we'll have to engage them, Commander?" Athrun asked, although he knew that this was stupid question because he knew what Rau was going to say.

"We're soldiers, Athrun," Rau said, "No matter how important the search for Miss Lacus is, we must keep the Legged Ship from reaching the 8th Fleet." Athrun nodded, although he wasn't entirely thrilled with the plan. Back on the Archangel, the crew was excitedly anticipating the long awaited rendezvous with their allies.

"We'll be meeting up with the Montgomery, Bernard, and Law soon," Pal said, "Wait…there's something…"

"What is it?" Murrue asked

"Something's interfering with the radar," Pal frowned, "There must be a Neutron Jammer somewhere out here." Shock filled the room and the crew members looked at each other in question.

"It must be a ZAFT ship," Mu said, "Nothing else would have create such powerful interference at this range." Meanwhile, the Vesailius had launched three Ginn units and Athrun was standing by in the Aegis waiting for launch clearance. As he waited, his father's words came back to him and then Kira's did as well. Making up his mind, he focused on the objective.

"Athrun Zala on Aegis, launching!" he said and the Mobile Suit was launched from the catapult before its crimson Phase Shift Armor activated. At the same time, alarms went off in the three ships that there were enemies at hand.

"Postpone the escort of the Archangel!" the Captain of the Montgomery ordered, "Launch all Mobile Armors! Keep those Mobile Suits away from the ships!" George frowned in disappointment but stayed in his seat. On Archangel, the bridge began picking up signal waves as well.

"We've got a big battle coming up ahead," Chandra said.

"Captain, the Montgomery is issuing an order for us to withdraw at once," Pal added.

"What's the enemies' strength?" Murrue asked.

"Three Ginns...and the X303 Aegis!" Tonomura announced.

"The Creuset Team! Here!" Natarle asked, startled.

"Captain, we'd better launch the Strike, X, and Zero!" Mu said.

"Go to it!" Murrue nodded, giving her assent. Out in space, the battle wasn't going so well for the Earth Forces, as they had already lost several Mobile Armors and not one Ginn had been shot down. "All hands, level one battle stations!" Murrue announced over the speakers, "I repeat, all hands report to level one battle stations! All noncombatants please remain in your quarters!" Kira, and Ryo were already hurrying to the locker room to get their pilot suits when suddenly, they saw Lacus standing outside her room.

"Miss Lacus!" Ryo shouted, "Get back in your room, please!"

"Oh, hello there," she smiled, "What's going on? Everything's getting so rowdy."

"There's a battle going on," Kira replied, "Please follow the Captain's directions and stay in here."

"Will you two be fighting?"

"Yes, now in you go!" Ryo said and shooed her back into her room before the two hurried off again. Not too long after, however, the two ran into Flay, who was looking for them.

"Kira, Ryo!" she said, "My daddy's onboard that flagship!"

"W-what...?" Kira asked while Ryo just groaned.

"Come on, we don't have time for this!" he said and thought at the same time, "This is getting ridiculous…"

"I'm begging you two," Flay pleaded, "Please save my daddy!"

"Ugh, first your shouting at us because we're Coordinators and now you're begging us for help?" Ryo asked irritably, "After all you've put us through, how do you expect us to…"

"Don't worry," Kira nodded, "We'll make sure he's okay."

"Why the hell do you keep telling her that 'we'll' do something whenever she asks!" Ryo shouted when they left, "I'm telling you, she's gonna be a big problem in the future! Just you wait, Kira!" Out in the battlefield, more and more Mobile Armors were shot down and the Aegis began to dish out some serious damage.

"Escort Ship Law is under fire!"

"It's really not the time for this…" Athrun thought, "What was the Commander thinking?" Even as he thought this, he hit a switch and the Aegis began to transform.

"X-303 Aegis is heading towards the Bernard!"

"The Aegis is transforming into Mobile Armor mode!"

"It's going to fire it's Scylla Cannon!" the Montgomery Captain exclaimed, "Escort Ship Bernard, pull out now!" It was too late, a burst of concentrated energy shot from the Aegis' "claw" and punctured right through the ship, destroying it in a single shot.

"Shot down by our own stolen weaponry! I've never heard of such a sick joke!" George Allster frowned, "Shoot it down! Do whatever you must to destroy the Aegis!"

"Vice-Minister Allster, please get onboard the life pod!" the captain requested.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he said, "Under these circumstances-!"

"Sir! A Ginn has penetrated our final line of defense!" At that same time, Mu had already launched in the Mobius Zero and Kira and Ryo were standing by.

"Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri, proceed to catapult launch!" Milly said, "The enemy forces consist of the Nazca Class ship, three Ginn units, and the X303 Aegis. Good luck, you two."

"Kira, Ryo," Sai added, "Flay's dad is onboard the Montgomery…please do your best…"

"We know that," Ryo cut in, rolling his eyes, "She told us while we were on our way here; she was practically begging us to save the guy…" As he said this, the two Mobile Suits were loaded onto the catapults and as the doors opened, he thought to himself, "Well, here I go. This is my chance to change the progression of the war for the better…"

"I'm not fighting in order to kill," Kira thought, fingering his controls as the Aile Striker Pack was installed, "I'm fighting to protect…and to save Flay's dad…"

"Everything checks out!" Miriallia announced, "Go ahead, guys!"

"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam! Blast off!"

"Ryo Mouri, X Gundam! Let's rock!" The catapults activated and the two Mobile Suits were propelled from the ships as the cables snapped off, their Phase Shift Armor activating as they took flight. On the deck, Flay watched in wonder as the two pilots flew off into the battle, prepared to engage the enemy.

"Ready the Gottfrieds and the Igelstellung guns!" Natarle ordered, "We've got to protect the Montgomery at all costs!"

"Gottfried cannons number one and two are fully charged!" Tonomura announced, "We have a Ginn in our sights!"

"Fire!" Both of the Archangel's Gottfried cannons opened fire and successfully destroyed the ignorant Ginn.

"You fools!" the Montgomery's captain shouted, "I gave you an order to pull out, Lieutenant Ramius!"

"With all due respect, sir," Murrue replied confidently, "When an allied ship is under fire, I cannot just idly stand by and watch!"

"Enemy reinforcements, sir!" Ades announced.

"How many are there?"

"Two Mobile Suits and one Mobile Armor!"

"So, they've finally taken my bait," Rau thought with a smirk, "Now, I will destroy them once and for all." Meanwhile, the Strike and X Gundams had followed the Mobius Zero to the battlefield and Kira was shocked at what he saw.

"W-what's this…?" he muttered, looking around. The Escort Ship Law was belching smoke and the Montgomery wasn't much worse for wear.

"It's nearly demolished," Mu sighed, "Kira, Ryo, I want you to go back and tighten the defenses around the Archangel." Kira sat there for a while and then Flay's words came back to him.

"Please save my daddy!"

"Kira? Come on, we're heading back," Ryo said over the radio, "I'm sure that Mu can handle this on his own." Kira hesitated and then stepped on the pedal, boosting towards the damaged Montgomery. "Kira!" Ryo shouted and went after him immediately, the Mobile Suit's wings splitting into the trademark "X" shape as the thrusters ignited.

"Stupid kid!" Mu scowled, "If the two of you and I get shot down, then all is lost…!"

"Lieutenant Flaga, I'll keep an eye on Kira!" Ryo said, "I'll see what I can do about the Ginns, but you'd better do your share too!"

"I'm more used to giving orders to pilots than I am receiving them from one," Mu replied, "But I'll go with your advice this time." Meanwhile, Athrun was making another run by the Law when his sensors reacted to something.

"That's…the Strike!" he exclaimed, "Kira!" He immediately shifted the Aegis back into its Mobile Suit mode and went forward. This time, however, Kira aimed the Strike Gundam's beam rifle and fired several shots at the Aegis. "Stop, Kira!" he shouted.

"Back off, Athrun!" Kira replied, "I don't want to fight you!"

"You're the one who should give up!" Athrun frowned, "Why are you, a Coordinator, allying yourself with the Earth Forces!" The Aegis continued to dodge shots from the Strike as the X Gundam flew off elsewhere. "When it comes to mobility…" Athrun said, "You're no match for the Aegis!"

"Aren't you the one who was so opposed to war!" Kira shouted, firing again. This time, the Aegis dodged and then drew a beam saber before flying at the Strike, who put its rifle away and reached back before drawing its own beam saber from its Aile Striker Pack. Before long, the two units had clashed with one another and were locked in a fierce melee battle. The Mobius Zero, on the other hand, was busy fighting another Ginn when all of a sudden, a second one appeared out of no where and fired, damaging the craft.

"Dammit," Mu cursed through gritted teeth, "I can't stop them with Zero alone!" With that, he used his Linear Gun and Wired Gunbarrels to destroy the first Ginn but just as the second was about to finish him off, a burst of pink energy smashed into its cockpit and destroyed it. "Thanks, kid!" Mu said gratefully to the X Gundam as he turned and flew off back to the Archangel, "I owe you one!"

"Think nothing of it!" Ryo grinned, "You just hurry up and get that thing fixed!"

"What's the position of the enemy ship?" Murrue asked.

"I can't find it!" Kuzzey replied, "Maybe it's been shot down…"

"Don't be ridiculous! This is the Creuset Team we're talking about!" Natarle replied, "Search harder!" At that moment, the door opened and every turned to see that it was Flay.

"Miss Allster, please return to your quarters," Murrue said, "Now is not the time for a stroll."

"Flay, what are you doing here?" Sai asked.

"My dad…" Flay said, "Where's my dad's ship? Is it okay?"

"Escort Ship Law has just been shot down!" Neumann announced and Flay panicked.

"Where are Kira and Ryo!" she demanded, "Let me talk to them! I have to tell them to…"

"Somebody get her out of here," Natarle groaned and Sai got out of his seat and led Flay into the hall.

"Flay, calm down, I'm sure that it's gonna be okay," he said assuredly but then the ship shook. Flay screamed and tried to go back to the bridge but Sai managed to restrain her. Just then, they heard something coming from one of the rooms and they both recognized it as Lacus' singing. It was shortly after Sai left that Flay got an idea and rushed into Lacus' room, causing the occupant to look up in surprise.

"Come!" Flay said dangerously, "Follow me!" Back in space, the Strike and Aegis continued to fight and the X Gundam joined the fray, using its oversized beam sword to assist the Strike. Just then, Ryo noticed something in the debris and he recognized it as the Vesailius.

"There!" he thought, "Now's my chance to take out their ship…I just hope this works…I don't want a repeat of last time…" Thinking that, he opened the cover on the dashboard again and his finger hovered over the button momentarily before he steeled his nerves and pressed it. At once, the screen changed to show the X-shaped power meter and the X Gundam's wings unfolded into a full "X" while the Satellite Cannon rotated into position. "Let's see now…" he thought, calculating some numbers in his head, "If a fully charged shot was enough to split a colony in half, I'd only need about…25 power to ensure a hit…" As he thought this, a beam of light came hurtling from the moon and struck the cockpit, causing the pale blue components of the Mobile Suit to glow brightly as the wings shone brilliantly in the black of space. Meanwhile, on the Archangel, the door to the bridge opened again and the crew turned to see Flay with Lacus in her grip.

"Flay, now what…?"

"Tell them that we'll kill her if they keep shooting at my dad's ship!" Flay demanded, "Tell them now!"

"Flay, what are you doing!" Miriallia asked, "Let her go!"

"Go ahead!" As the crew tried to calm Flay down, the radar began to react to something.

"Huh? W-what's this?"

"What is it?" Murrue asked.

"For some reason, the X Gundam's power output has suddenly increased!" Neumann reported, "And it's still going up!"

"I'm picking up a major increase in thermal energy coming from the X Gundam," Chandra acknowledged. This greatly startled and confused the crew and not just that of the Archangel.

"Sir! One of the enemy units has locked on to us!"

"Just one?" Rau smirked, "No matter, there's no way that just one unit can break through our shields…"

"Sir, the enemy unit's thermal energy is going up to an impossible level!" the pilot said, "At this rate, whatever weapon it's using will have enough power to wipe us out with one shot at twenty-five percent charged!"

"What!" Rau exclaimed, "Let me see those readings!" He floated down to the controls and sure enough, the readings were as clear as daylight. "How is this possible? There's only one unit capable of such power but…" Rau thought but then it dawned on him, "Could it be? The Earth Forces have captured a prototype X Gundam….?"

"Call back the Aegis!" Ades ordered, "If you can't stop that unit from firing its weapon, then divert its course!"

"Aegis, return to the ship at once!" the voice blared over Athrun's radio, "Repeat! Report back to the Vesailius! Engage the enemy unit nearby immediately!"

"What?" he thought, "What could they possibly mean?" Nonetheless, he flew back in the direction of the ship and then saw a strange light in the distance. A closer look revealed it to be one of the enemy units and he saw that it was aiming its weapon in the direction that the Vesailius was in. That was when it all clicked. "No you don't!" he shouted and transformed the Aegis into Mobile Armor mode and gunned the thrusters.

"This ends now, Creuset!" Ryo shouted but at that moment, he sensed another unit approaching him and checked the monitors to see the Aegis approaching. "Crap…Kira!" he said, "Hold off the Aegis until I can get a clear shot!"

"Right!" Kira nodded and fired the Strike Gundam's beam rifle at the Aegis. The problem was, the crimson Mobile Suit was much too fast and his shots missed. The Aegis' "claw" opened up and managed to grab onto the unsuspecting X Gundam from behind at exactly the same moment when Ryo pulled the trigger.

"Shit! Abort, dammit, abort!" Ryo cursed, slamming the button again and again in a desperate attempt to cancel the firing sequence but it was no use, the stored up energy erupted from the Satellite Cannon's nozzle and since the Aegis was still moving, the beam moved as well. Eventually, it had cleared a path through the debris, damaged the Vesailius, and finally engulfed the Montgomery's remaining Mobile Armors as well as the Montgomery itself in a deadly stream of white energy. By the time the blast faded, there was nothing left of the ship. "No…no, no…not again…." Ryo muttered, shock filling his every nerve, "No…this can't…I didn't…" Memories of Junius Seven came flooding back to him and he let out a long, harsh cry; a cry filled with the anger of his failure and the sorrow of his past deeds. "GOD DAMMIT!" he shouted, pounding on the controls with his fists, "Why! Why can't…why can't I ever do anything right for once! Why do I have to kill all these people and cause so much pain to others! Why me! Aren't there enough genocidal maniacs in existence! Why do I have to be among them!"

"Wh-what…what was that!" Murrue stammered, shocked by the sight.

"The…the Montgomery has been destroyed!" Neumann exclaimed, "The entire escort fleet has been…obliterated…!"

"O-obliterated…! No…no, it can't be…" Flay gaped, her eyes bulging from her head as her pupils dilated to the size of a pencil eraser, "They promised me that he would be okay! They…promised me…" At this, shock overcame her and she fainted right there on the bridge while Sai called out to her and Lacus and Murrue looked on in pity.

"Captain, we have to get going!" Natarle shouted, "We can't just sit here! Captain!"

"I realize that!" Murrue said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts, "Call back the Strike and X Gundams! The Archangel will withdraw from this sector."

"Kira! Ryo!" Miriallia said, still shaken, "Return to the Archangel!"

"In the middle of a battle?" Kira asked, "And…there might be an escape pod with Flay's dad on it…"

"It's unlikely that they would have had time to launch the escape pod under such circumstances," Neumann replied, startling Tolle who was sitting nearby, "Besides, it would have been wiped out along with the ship in that blast."

"Where is it!" Kira frowned, ignoring his words and flying off to search.

"Come back at once, Kira Yamato!" Natarle shouted, "What's going on with Ryo Mouri?"

"I don't know, he's not responding," Milly replied nervously, "Ryo? Ryo, are you there? What's wrong? Ryo, please respond!"

"Enemy ship sighted!" Tonomura announced, "Wh-what's this…the enemy ship's main guns are locked onto us!"

"What!"

"It's been hiding in the debris…behind one of the destroyed Escort Ships!"

"Emergency retreat!" Murrue shouted, "Get us out of here!"

"There's no time for that!" Natarle responded and then went up to Kuzzey's seat and grabbed his headset.

"Ensign Badgiruel, what are you intending-"

"Attention to ZAFT ship! We currently have on board Miss Lacus Clyne…" Natarle said into the headset, "The daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne!"

"What!" Ades exclaimed and even Rau raised his eyebrows in surprise. Athrun and Kira stopped their struggle to listen.

"By chance, we happened upon her life pod and took her in for humanitarian reasons!" Natarle continued, "However, if you persist in attack this ship, the safety of Miss Clyne cannot be guaranteed!"

"A dirty trick! Using a civilian as a hostage!" Athrun shouted, infuriated by the turn of events, "Is this your sense of justice, Kira? Fighting alongside such treacherous company!"

"Athrun…"

"I'll get her back," the green eyed Coordinator said, "That's a promise."

"Our army does not submit to threats!" Rau frowned in response, "If she really is the daughter of the Supreme Council Chairman, then she should be prepared to die an honorable death in battle rather than go on living as a prisoner!"

"Commander!" Ades suddenly interrupted, "As the Captain of this ship, I cannot risk any harm coming to Miss Lacus! As of now, I propose that we retreat until we can devise a strategy to retrieve her!"

"Hmm, very well then," Rau nodded reluctantly, "Give the signal to withdraw." The signal was given and the Aegis left and Strike began to return to the Archangel. However, Kira noticed that the X Gundam had not moved at all since it had fired the Satellite Cannon and he grew concerned.

"Ryo? Are you okay in there?" he asked, drawing near but all he got was silence. Worried for his friend, he had the Strike drag the X Gundam back into the Archangel's Mobile Suit hangar.

"Ensign Badgiruel!" Murrue fumed, "That was a completely unacceptable and uncalled for-"

"I'll take any punishment you give me later!" Natarle retorted, "But for now, I won't let the Archangel or the Strike and X Gundams be destroyed!" Murrue fell silent, for she knew that the ship would have been shot down if Natarle had not intervened.

"Haro, Haro, does not compute…" Lacus' Haro said, floating around its owner.

"Someone bring Miss Clyne back to her room," Natarle sighed and Tonomura quickly got up to escort a slightly upset looking Lacus back to her room. Meanwhile, in the hangar, Ryo had quickly come out of the X Gundam's cockpit and then fled from the hangar, ignoring the people who called out to him. Not bothering to change out of his pilot suit, he found an isolated closet and opened it before smashing his helmet into the panel, causing it to shut and then lock itself when he had gone in, leaving his helmet to drift around in the hallway. As soon as he was alone, he slid down to the floor and curled up into a ball before tears began to flow freely from his eyes, the burden of what he had done still heavy on his mind and body.

-Phase 09: End


	11. Divided Paths

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 10- Divided Paths

"The enemy ship is falling back," Tonomura announced, "We should be safe for now."

"Still," Murrue sighed, "Even if they can't shoot, that doesn't mean that they won't still follow us."

"We can't rethink our strategy, Captain," Natarle replied, "Not in our current situation."

"I know," the Captain nodded, "But still, I wonder, what was it that destroyed the Montgomery? I've never seen anything shoot that kind of beam before." Natarle then remembered what Ryo had said back on Junius Seven and then thought about this for a while.

"Captain," she said, "I think I may have an idea as to what it was."

"What is it?"

"Back on the ruins of Junius Seven, Ryo Mouri stopped and went into an abandoned home by himself," Natarle explained, "When I followed with Miss Haww, we found him in the master bedroom by himself looking very upset. Later, he said something about the tragedy of the Bloody Valentine being his fault and that the X Gundam was developed by the ZAFT. He was about to say something else but then he was cut off after you called in to check on our progress."

"The Bloody Valentine…his fault?" Murrue questioned, "What are you trying to say?"

"I have reason to believe…" Natarle said, "That it was the X Gundam that destroyed the Montgomery by accident." As her words sunk in, Murrue shook her head and racked her mind for a possible argument.

"But…that can't be…" she said, "Ryo has loyally fought to protect this ship…why would he…"

"As I said, the shot must have hit the Montgomery by sheer accident," Natarle replied, "I'm quite sure that he was intending to shoot at the enemy ship instead."

"Either way, we can't let this go unanswered," Murrue sighed, "We'll have to ask him some questions later on." Meanwhile, in the hangar, Kira had gotten out of the Strike's cockpit and found Mu telling the technicians to hurry up and get the repairs started.

"What in the world was that all about?" he asked the veteran pilot, "Earlier, using Miss Clyne as a hostage like that."

"I guess that's just it," Mu replied.

"So that's how the Atlantic Federation works?" Kira frowned, "Using civilians as human shields?" Mu gave him a look and he stopped talking.

"No," Mu said, shaking his head, "It's because we're weak and either way, we can't question the decisions of the Captain." Kira simply frowned before something clicked in his mind.

"Say, where's Ryo?" he asked, "Did he get out of his cockpit yet?"

"I think so," Mu nodded, "But he got out of here pretty quickly, he wouldn't even look at anyone. Why?"

"It's just…" Kira sighed, "Something happened on the battlefield…I don't know what but he just wouldn't respond for some reason…he didn't even move when I tried to talk to him."

"Well then," Mu said, "I guess we'll just have to go find him and ask what's bugging him." Kira nodded and the two quickly went to change out of their pilot suits before beginning their search. A few of the civilians that they asked said that they saw a black haired boy wearing a pilot suit go past them in a very distressed state before hearing the sound of something heavy being smashed into the wall. By now, most of the other students had joined the search except for Sai, who was watching over Flay in her room.

"Where could he have gone?" Tolle wondered out loud, "It's just not like him to disappear like that."

"I just hope he's okay," Milly sighed, "He's never been like this…he's always had something to say before…" Tiffa looked around and then felt something coming down the hall. It was a sort of tug, as if something was telling her that her friend was that way. Curious, she went in that direction and then saw a pilot helmet drifting around and a smashed control panel near it.

"Lieutenant! Over here!" she cried, "I think he's been through here!"

"Looks like he was mad too," Kuzzey remarked, looking at the smashed module, "I guess that door won't be opening for a while…" Just then, Tiffa felt something coming from the room. It was as if the door itself was radiating sorrow and she went over and pressed her ear against it.

"Tiffa? What are you doing?" Milly asked, "Did you hear something?"

"I…I think so," she said, "There's someone inside…it sounds like they're crying…" After a momentary pause she suddenly added, "We have to get the door open. Ryo's inside!"

"Are you sure?" Kira asked.

"I can feel it," Tiffa nodded, "Hurry! Go and get someone to open the door!" Kira nodded and went off with Lieutenant Flaga back to the hangar to get Murdoch. Meanwhile, the others hammered on the door and called out to Ryo to try and get his attention, not realizing that he was too deep in his despair to hear them. Outside, Tiffa felt his sorrow and it made her more determined to find out what was going on. Before long, Kira and Mu returned with the head technician and the others parted to let him through.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, he must've been real pissed when he hit this thing," Murdoch whistled, "I'm gonna have to change the plate. Give me a few minutes." With that, he detached the damaged module and then placed a new one over where the old one had once been. All it took was a few keys and the door slid open. The room was dark but the small group could hear harsh sobs coming from the far corner. For a while, they stood out there, not sure of what to do. Then, Tiffa took a step in to the room and looked in to see her friend huddled up in the corner, his face buried in his knees.

"Ryo…" she whispered and went closer to him, "Ryo, say something…please?"

"T-Ti…Tiffa?" he asked, looking up a bit and she saw that his eyes were bloodshot and overflowing with tears, "Is that you?" She nodded and knelt in front of him. Turning his head, he could see the others crowded by the door and immediately looked back down. "Please…just…just leave me alone…" he muttered, "I need some time by myself…."

"Ryo, we're your friends," Milly said, "And as your friends, it's our job to help you when you're upset."

"You don't get it," he replied, "You don't understand what I've been through…what I've seen, what I've done…you can't help me…"

"Maybe we should leave these two alone for a bit," Mu suddenly whispered, "You know, give them some space." He received a few odd looks from them but nonetheless, they quietly left until it was just Tiffa and Ryo in the supply closet.

"It happened again, didn't it?" she asked. All she got in reply was a nod and she sighed before putting a hand on his arm and adding, "Ryo…it's not your fault…I know you were aiming for something else…"

"It is," he said, "All of this is my fault. The Bloody Valentine, the war, and now this…I wish I would just die…right here…I don't wanna cause any more pain to other people…I've already done too much of that…" Tears streamed down his face as he thought of all that he had done and what was now happening because of it. "I'm to blame for this…" he muttered, "If it wasn't for me, Heliopolis would've never been destroyed…there would've never been a Gundam Project…and Kira wouldn't be going through all this with me…neither would any of you….none of us would have been involved in any of this…"

"Ryo…"

"I just…I just wanted to do something right for a change…" he sighed, "All my life, I've had the worst luck in the world…and even now, I still have it…I don't know who…who to…" His words faltered as his throat started to choke up again and Tiffa squeezed his hand with both of hers. His sorrow was filling the entire room and it was beginning to overwhelm her, she could feel her own sadness building up inside her heart.

"Ryo, please…don't cry…" she whimpered, her own eyes beginning to tear up, "I…I don't like seeing you this way…it makes me sad knowing you're upset…"

"I'm sorry…" he replied, "But…I just can't…I can't take this anymore…any of this…" His tears became steadier as he pulled himself into a tighter ball and refused to look back at his friend. Much to his surprise, he felt something warm wrap around his shoulders and then something soft pressed against his cheek. He opened his eyes to see that Tiffa had pulled him into an embrace and that she too was shedding tears.

"You're not…you're not alone, Ryo…" she whispered, pressing herself closer to him, "I'm here…and no matter what happens, the others will always be your friends…I can…I can feel your pain and…and I'll cry with you. You said you'd protect me from harm…so let me protect you from your sorrow…" Only one other person had ever held him like this and that was his mother, but she was gone now. Tiffa words seemed to melt into his consciousness and all of a sudden, it felt as if a great burden was lifted from his chest.

"I'm…really not alone, am I?" he thought, "She's right…I'll always have the others…and they'll always have me too…" Biting his lip, he laid his head on his friend's shoulder and felt the constriction in his chest lessen significantly with each tear that he shed. Tiffa began to feel his sadness slowly fade and nuzzled her head into his shoulder, stroking his back soothingly. Finally, Ryo felt his tears dry and Tiffa, sensing that he had recovered from his sorrow, smiled. "Tiffa…"

"Hm? Yes?"

"…Thank you…" Ryo said, "For being here for me…" With that, he got up and stretched a little, "Well, we might as well go back out so that I can change out of this pilot suit. I mean, I can't exactly go around walking around in it all day, can I?"

"No, I guess not," Tiffa smiled, glad to see that her friend was back to his old self again, but then saw that a troubled look had overshadowed his face, "What is it?"

"It's just…" Ryo sighed, "I'm not sure if I can ever look at Flay in the face ever again…our relationship was already stressed enough…"

"Well, whatever happens," Tiffa said, putting a hand on his arm, "We'll face it together."

"Yeah."

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"Because of our situation with Miss Clyne, we are currently unable to engage the Legged Ship," Ades said, "But we can still follow them until the situation changes."

"By then, Legged Ship will have probably already met up with the rest of the 8th Fleet," Rau frowned, "How much longer until we reach the Gamow?"

"Approximately seven hours, sir."

"Seven hours?" Rau asked, "Hmm, the Atlantic Federation will have been able to have done just about anything by that time. My, this is certainly troublesome." Athrun, who was a bit off to the side, said nothing, being deep in thought. It had troubled him enough that Kira was fighting against them but now that Lacus was in the hands of the Earth Alliance and being used as a shield, he was even more bothered. And now there was the new Mobile Suit that had almost destroyed the Vesailius had he not intervened in time. He was slightly worried that if the unit ever got a good shot in, how much damage it would do to their forces. Sighing, he looked out through the window and could just barely make out the enemy ship off in the distance.

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Back on the Archangel, Sai was still watching over Flay and was just starting to doze off when her eyes opened slightly. All of a sudden, the memories of what had happened before came rushing back and she was jerked back into consciousness, screaming as she sat up.

"Flay!" Sai exclaimed, rushing to her side, "Flay, what is it? What's wrong?"

"D-daddy…?" she stuttered before looking at Sai, "Where's my dad? Where is he!" Saying this, she grabbed onto Sai's uniform, determined to find out about her father's whereabouts.

"Flay!" Sai said, "Flay, calm down!" His words went unheeded, however, and Flay continued to ask him until finally, the truth sunk in and she burst into tears. Miriallia, who was walking by with a bundle of bottles in her arms, heard the commotion and looked in. When she did, however, the sight caused her to drop the bottles and one got in between the door and caused it to keep opening and then closing partially before opening again. Outside, Kira heard this too and went to the room before Tiffa and Ryo, who had now changed out of his pilot suit, joined him in there.

"Flay…" Kira started but when she heard him, she looked up from crying on Sai's chest and turned to the two pilots with anger written all over her face.

"You're both liars!" she screamed, "You told me…you promised me he'd be okay! Why didn't you save my dad!"

"Technically, I never said anything," Ryo thought as Kira looked down at his feet.

"Flay, please," Sai told her, "That's enough…"

"You're not really fighting the ZAFT in earnest, are you!" she continued with a nasty tone, "It's because you're both Coordinator's yourselves, isn't it!" At this, Ryo's guilt came back and he felt his eyes stinging again.

"Shut up! Don't you dare say anything like that about Kira! He put your father's safety before anything else!" he snapped, "If you're gonna blame anyone for your father's death, Flay, then don't blame him, blame me! I'm the one you should be hurling your insults at!"

"And why do you care!" she replied bitterly, "You've never lost your parents! You don't know how I feel!"

"I know perfectly damn well how you feel!" Ryo retorted, "It's you who doesn't understand what I've been through before! You don't have any idea of how painful it is to have a history like my own!"

"Well what's so bad about yours!"

"Nothing that you would ever know," he almost hissed, "But I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life and the results were even worse. This was my entire fault, I admit it. I shot down your father's ship when I was trying to shoot down the enemy's…I destroyed my own home when I was trying to protect it…the only reason we're standing here bickering like this right now is because of a stupid mistake that I made a year ago!" The others stared in bewilderment as he continued, "One shot…one stupid misplaced shot…that's all that it took to end the lives of 243,721 innocent civilians that day…that Valentines Day last year…and it was me who pulled the trigger…I fired that shot…I'm the one to blame…" No one spoke or even moved, even Ryo himself faltered after his own words.

"You…" Flay snarled after a few seconds, "You murderer! I can't believe I trusted you!"

"Flay…" Milly started but the red-head wasn't done yet.

"How could you shoot down someone who was on our side!" she shouted, "My dad was on that ship, you know!"

"Flay, calm down," Sai said, "It was an accident."

"You were sent here by ZAFT, weren't you!" she added, ignoring Sai, "They sent you to kill us all!"

"Flay, stop it!" Miriallia said, shocked by her words, "Ryo would never do something like that!"

"He already shot down my dad's ship!" Flay replied angrily, "There's no telling what he's gonna do next!"

"Flay…" Milly began but Ryo held up his hand to silence her.

"I don't mind, really," he muttered, "She has a good reason to question my loyalties…everyone does…"

"Ryo…"

"I'm gonna walk around for a bit," he said, "I need some time to think." Ignoring an outburst from Flay about him being a spy and really wanting to observe the ship's interior, he left the room and went down the hallway, ignoring everyone else that he came in contact with. Finally, he stopped near a window and leaned against the railing before sighing deeply. "What am I gonna do?" he thought, closing his eyes a bit, "They're definitely gonna question me about what happened…should I tell them the truth?"

"Haro! Haro!" The sudden sound made him look up and he saw a familiar round pink robot bouncing around the hallway towards him.

"Great," he thought with a sigh, "Just what I needed…" As he thought this, the Haro started to fly in circles around him like it did the first time they met, babbling nonstop and he simply ignored it, gazing out the window.

"Mr. Pink!" he heard someone else call out, "Oh, there you are!" In the reflection on the glass, he saw Lacus retrieve her robot and then watched her study his face a bit. "Mr. Mouri," she said, "What's wrong? You seem upset…"

"It's nothing…" he replied, "Just trying to kill some time…"

"I've always loved looking at the stars," she smiled, looking through the glass, "It's so pretty how they sparkle like that. It's even better when I look at it through a window. What about you?"

"I'm not sure…" he sighed, "Sometimes when I look out in space through a window…I can't tell if I'm looking into the void of space that took everything away from me…or if I'm just staring at my own reflection in the glass…a face with no real purpose…"

"What do you think you see?" she asked, turning her attention back to him.

"I don't know," he said, "I guess it's one of those things that I'll figure out when I'm ready."

"Then I wish you best of luck, Mr. Mouri," she smiled sincerely, "And I hope that you find out soon." All of a sudden, the two heard someone cry out from down the hallway and Ryo immediately recognized the voice as Kira's.

"Let's go," he said, "We should see what's troubling him." Lacus nodded and the two hurried over to where the sound had come from. Sure enough, there was Kira, bent over on the railing and appearing to be crying.

"Mr. Yamato," Lacus said to him, "What's the matter?"

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"Commander Creuset, there's something here for you from PLANT," Ades said to Rau, "I believe it's a message. Shall I send it to your quarters?"

"No, I'll receive it on the bridge myself," Rau answered, wiping his mask with a cloth and thought, "My, such a large fuss over one little girl…" With this, he drank some water and then clenched his fist as he set it down before leaving the room, leaving behind the bottle of water and a small container of pills.

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"R-Ryo…Ms. Lacus?" Kira stammered, looking up at the two, "W-what…" Hastily, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and quickly refused Lacus' hand when she tried to touch his face. "Ms. Lacus, what are you doing out here?" he asked, looking at the two.

"Well, I was taking a walk," she began, "When I found Mr. Mouri here by another window. He told me that he was trying to decided just what he saw when he looked into the glass and that was when we heard a loud noise coming from here."

"Yes, well, you shouldn't really walk around all the time," Kira said, blushing a bit, "People might think you're a spy." Instead of being offended by his words, Lacus just smiled a bit and floated over to him. Surprised, Kira quickly put his hands up and helped her back down.

"But Mr. Pink loves to go for walks," Lacus sighed, holding up the small toy, "Even when the door is locked, it always opens when he wants to go out."

"Haro! Don't wanna admit it!" the robot chirped.

"Come on, we'll bring you back to your room," Kira said, gesturing to Ryo. Lacus smiled again and then floated up to the ceiling.

"Is the fighting over, then?" she asked, looking out of the window.

"Yes, it is."

"You seem sad, Mr. Yamato," Lacus stated, turning to look at him, "And so was Mr. Mouri when I found him. Is there something wrong?"

"I'm just…tired of this," Kira sighed, "I don't want to kill or be killed…and I especially don't wanna fight against Athrun, and yet…" At this point, he was talking more to himself but Lacus caught this and she seemed to grow excited at the name.

"Oh, you know Athrun?"

"What? Oh, um, yes. Do you?"

"Of course I do!" she smiled, "Athrun Zala is the man that I will be married to someday, even though he's very busy." Kira seemed surprised and then realized that he had said too much. On the other hand, he trusted the two of them and decided to tell them everything.

"Athrun and I used to go to the same Lunar Prep. School together," he said, "Back then, we were best friends…"

"Wow…really?" Lacus asked, fascinated, "Well, what happened after that?"

"I haven't seen him since recently," Kira sighed, "Now the two of us are enemies…he pilots the Aegis Gundam…" At that moment, Ryo, who had so far remained silent, heard a sound and turned. The other two saw his movements and looked up at him.

"Mr. Mouri? What's the matter?" Lacus said, peering down the hallway.

"I thought I heard something…or someone," he replied, frowning a bit, "Perhaps this isn't the best time or place to discuss these things, there's no telling if someone's listening."

"I'm sure it was nothing," Lacus shrugged, "Perhaps it was just your imagination." Ryo shrugged but kept on glancing at the hallway suspiciously. "You know, it was Athrun who gave me this Haro," she said, trying to change the subject, "And when I told him that I liked it, he just kept on making more and more for me."

"Wow, I guess he really hasn't changed much then," Kira said and pulled a small, green and yellow object out of his pocket, "He made this Birdee back then for me…it's always been my most prized possession…"

"It's all so…sad," she sighed, "Both you and him are great people…wouldn't it be wonderful if you didn't have to fight anymore?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded wistfully, still staring at his own robot, "Yeah, it would." Just then, Lacus suddenly tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn and Ryo blinked before looking down at his watch while Kira blushed a little. "Wow, she's…kind of cute when she yawns like that…"

"Whoa, we've been out here for hours!" Ryo said, "Lacus, if you don't mind, Kira and I will escort you back to your room so that you can get some rest. And I advise that you get some sleep too, Kira."

"So what are you going to be doing?" Kira asked.

"What do you think? I need to hit the sack too, you know!" Ryo replied before going behind them and giving them a gentle nudge forward, "Come on now, you two can go and flirt with each other all day tomorrow for all I care but for now, you'd better get some sleep!" This remark caused both Kira and Lacus to blush slightly and the two avoided looking at each other for the remainder of the trip, least they start blushing again. At around this time, most of the other students were in the cafeteria, talking about the little incident that had occurred earlier.

"You know, I can understand how Flay must feel, the ship her dad was on got shot down, after all," Miriallia sighed, "But that doesn't mean that she had to take it out on those two. It was just…mean, what she said to them." Of course, she had meant the two pilots when she had said "those two" and the others knew that.

"It was rather harsh," Tiffa nodded as Kuzzey came into the room, "But still, you must understand that Flay has suffered a tremendous personal loss and her having to bear witness to her father's death is bound to have caused her to allow her emotions to get the better of her actions, even if it was unintentional."

"Sometimes, Tiffa, I just can't understand how you can always find a way to look at the better side of things," Milly said, propping her head up with her arm, "And you of all people should have taken just a little offense to what Flay said."

"No," the younger girl replied, shaking her head, "I understood why she had said such things and so I took no offense."

"But still, what she said wasn't true," Tolle said, "After all, those two would never hold back, they always try their best in battle."

"Are you sure about that?" Kuzzey suddenly asked from where he was standing. Confused, the others turned to look at him, not understanding what he had said.

"What's gotten into you, Kuzzey?" Sai asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I guess I can't really doubt Ryo," Kuzzey replied, "But I just heard Kira telling that Coordinator girl that the pilot of the Aegis is an old friend of his."

"Just because the two are friends doesn't prove that Kira isn't giving his all," Tiffa said while the others expressed their disbelief, "During the battle, I noticed that the two of them generally tried to avoid each other but when they did fight, I saw no decrease in Kira's efforts. No, I'm sure that Kira just simply doesn't have as much combat experience as his friend. For all we know, he could be a veteran pilot."

"And just how are you supposed to know that?" Tolle asked, looking back at the younger girl, "You weren't even on the bridge and I don't think the view screens in the rooms can see that far."

"She's got a point, though," Miriallia agreed, "Kira's only been fighting for a little more than a week, I wouldn't be surprised if he's been having some trouble in battle."

"Whatever you say," Kuzzey sighed, seeing that his argument wasn't going anywhere but his doubts still never left.

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Later, Kira lay face up on his bed, still not asleep. Lacus' words kept coming back to him, haunting him, until finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "This just isn't right," he thought and climbed out of bed before leaving his room. Looking around to see if anyone was around he quietly snuck down the hallway, only to run into Ryo when he rounded the corner.

"Going for a stroll, Kira?" he asked.

"Um…well…"

"Tsch, don't even try," Ryo said, shaking his head, "You've always been a bad liar, Kira."

"But-"

"I know what you're thinking," he smiled, "And I agree with you. Come on; let's go before anyone suspects anything."

"How did you-"

"You think you're the only one who doesn't like the fact that we used Lacus as a human shield?" Ryo asked, "Come on, be reasonable, Kira, none of us did. Now then, if you're done asking questions, we should get going before someone walks in on us." At this, Kira nodded in assent and the two went down to Lacus' room. Upon entering, they saw that it was dark and that the occupant was sleeping but their sudden presence alerted Haro and it immediately turned on, saying a few bits of nonsense as it rolled around on the table.

"Dammit, I forgot about that thing…" Ryo thought and smacked himself in the forehead.

"Ssh, Haro…" Kira said, trying to silence the toy but it was too late, Lacus had already been woken and she sat up.

"Hmm? Mr.Yamato…Mr.Mouri, is there a problem?" she yawned when she noticed then, rubbing the sleep from her blue eyes.

"Ssh, please don't say anything," Kira assured her as Ryo glanced out the door, "Just follow us quietly." Though still confused, Lacus nodded and the two stepped outside for a while so that she could change into her normal clothes. Once she was outside the room with Haro, the three Coordinators quietly stole down several hallways until Kira saw Sai and Miriallia standing nearby. Thinking quickly, he ushered Lacus behind one of the wall-frames just before Sai spotted him.

"Um, Kira?" he said, "What're you…"

"Oh, hi guys," Kira replied, as if he had just seen them, "Just…going for a walk…"

"Going for a walk…?" Ryo thought and mentally groaned in exasperation, "Ugh, Kira…" Just then, Haro bounced out from Lacus' hiding place and he was sorely tempted to just kick it back down the hallway. "One of these days…" he grumbled as Lacus moved to retrieve her toy and revealed herself in the process, "I swear…" Sai and Milly noticed Lacus almost immediately and Sai pointed at her. Kira looked at where he was pointing and his face fell before he looked at his feet.

"Kira…what's going on here?" Milly asked before realization dawned on her and she said no more.

"I just…" Kira said, "I can't take this anymore…"

"Well," Sai suddenly smiled, "Holding a girl hostage is something that the bad guys would do anyway and we're not the bad guys, are we?"

"Depends," Ryo smirked, "Are you looking at it from the Earth Force's point of view of ZAFT's?" The others laughed at the joke and Sai and Milly led them to the locker rooms.

"We'll wait out here," Milly said, "To make sure that no one walks in on you, you know?" Kira nodded and went inside, with Ryo and Lacus close behind. After the two had gotten their pilot suits on, Kira went into another locker and pulled out a normal spacesuit that was for Lacus.

"Just slip it on over your clothes," he said but Ryo instantly saw a flaw in the plan.

"Um, Kira," Ryo frowned, "I think her dress is going to cause some problems with that."

"Oh," Lacus said, looking down at herself before loosening her shoulder straps.

"Uh…do you want us to step outside for a bit?" Ryo asked as she tugged on her outfit, "Because we really wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable with us in here…"

"Oh, no, it's fine," she smiled, "I don't mind, really?" Ryo had to struggle not to ask her if she was a prostitute and instead turned around to give Lacus her privacy while Kira blushed madly and hid behind the spacesuit that he was still holding onto. A few minutes later, the three exited the door and the first thing that Sai and Miriallia noticed was Lacus' now mysteriously bulging midriff.

"How many months…?" he asked and Kira did a double-take while Lacus looked at him oddly.

"What are you suggesting, Sai?" Ryo said, frowning a bit.

"Oh, nothing," Sai answered, "I was just wondering how she suddenly got pregnant." At this, Kira's face turned a brilliant shade of red and Lacus looked even more confused; Miriallia just rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Sai, if you weren't one of my friends, I swear…" Ryo threatened, cracking his knuckles loudly and Sai stopped laughing instantly.

"Um, well, anyway," he said, clearing his throat, "Let's get going, shall we?" The others nodded and they quickly escorted Lacus to the hangar, which was conveniently deserted at the moment. Despite this, Ryo advised that they hurry up because of the possibility that someone would walk in on them. In a few minutes, Kira was inside the Strike's cockpit and Sai was helping Lacus into it as well.

"Thank you," she smiled, "I hope that we can meet each other again someday."

"Maybe," Sai nodded and Miriallia smiled in assent as Ryo climbed into the X Gundam. At that moment, however, Murdoch came into the hangar and saw the two students hovering near the Strike's cockpit.

"Hey! What're you kids doing!" he shouted, "You're not supposed to be up there!"

"Kira, you'll come back, right?" Sai asked, "You'll come back to the Archangel, won't you?" Although confused, Kira thought nothing of it and smiled.

"Of course," he nodded, "That's a promise. Stand back, now." With that, he closed the cockpit and activated the Strike while Ryo did the same in the X Gundam. The two had already come up with a plan while going to Lacus' room: Kira was to go a reasonable distance towards the ZAFT ship and then request that Athrun launch so that he could retrieve Lacus. Once he did, Kira would hand Lacus over to him once he had confirmed it was in fact Athrun inside the Aegis Gundam. Ryo was to go along as an escort to assist the Strike if the ZAFT tried anything funny while Lacus was being returned. Since he had been present when Kira had told Lacus about Athrun, he had understood perfectly. "Cover us, Sai," Kira said as the two Mobile Suits made their way to the catapults.

"Kira! Ryo!" Sai shouted after them, "I'm trusting the two of you!" On the bridge, an alarm went off and Natarle asked what was going on.

"The Strike and X Gundams have opened the airlocks," Mu said, "At this point, there's nothing we can do."

"Kira Yamato! Ryo Mouri!" Natarle fumed, "Explain yourselves at once!"

"Ensign Badgiruel, with all due respect," Ryo answered calmly, "I would rather die having done the right thing than live on because of such a dishonorable act."

"Hold it right there!" she shouted, "Come back at once!" It was too late, both Mobile Suits had already launched and were headed for the Vesailius as they activated their Phase Shift Armor. Almost at the same time, the ship detected the launch and went to Level 1 Battle Status. Upon hearing this, Athrun hurried to the hangar and got into the Aegis immediately.

"We should be close enough," Ryo said, "Go on, Kira." Kira nodded and punched in a few commands, opening a communication line with the Vesailius.

"Attention ZAFT ship! This is the pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam!" he said, "I am bringing Ms. Lacus Clyne over to you in order to return her!" Panic was replaced by curiosity and talk spread throughout the bridge, even Rau was interested. "You are to shut down your engines and send out the GAT-X303 Aegis alone to retrieve her," he continued, "If you do not comply to these conditions, my wingman will take action!"

"For a bad liar, he sure does know how to make demands," Ryo mused to himself and chuckled under his breath.

"Captain Ades, please let me go out!" Athrun said from the Aegis.

"I don't know," the Captain frowned, "It could be a ruse to lure the Aegis out so that they can capture it."

"The pilot of the Strike doesn't sound to be any older than a kid," Rau smirked, "I highly doubt that anyone his age can be that good of a strategist." Turning to the line Athrun was on, he said, "Go ahead, Athrun, you may launch."

"Yes sir!" Athrun nodded and launched immediately.

"Deactivate the engines and wait for my signal!" Rau added, "I will stand by in the CGUE and wait until Athrun has retrieved Ms. Clyne." Meanwhile, the Aegis had reached the Strike and X Gundams, it'd Phase Shift Armor activated as well. For a moment, there was silence between them until Kira raised the Strike's beam rifle so that it was level with the Aegis' cockpit and Ryo did the same, making it clear that Athrun was not to try anything.

"Are you Athrun Zala of ZAFT?" Kira asked.

"Yes, that's me," Athrun nodded.

"Open your cockpit," Kira said and the green-eyed Coordinator complied at once. Satisfied, Kira turned to Lacus and added, "Say something to him so he knows that it's really you."

"Oh, alright," she nodded and said into the speakers, "Hello, Athrun! It's very nice to see you again!"

"Haro! Good morning!" Haro added. Athrun smiled when he heard this and he was satisfied.

"Alright, I have confirmed that Ms. Clyne is with you," he nodded.

"Then prepare to receive her," Kira replied and opened his cockpit as Athrun climbed out onto the door of his.

"Sorry for all the trouble I caused, Mr. Yamato," Lacus smiled as she prepared to leave, "Thank you for helping me. You too, Mr. Mouri." This last thank-you was said into the speakers and Ryo smiled.

"Think nothing of it, Ms. Clyne," he replied and Lacus smiled before pushing off from the cockpit and floating towards the Aegis, where Athrun was waiting for her. Once she was close enough, he reached out and got a secure hold on her before pulling her onto the door before Lacus turned to the other two Mobile Suits.

"Goodbye, you two!" she smiled cheerily while Athrun, who had just noticed her strangely large abdomen, gaped at her stomach, "I do hope we can meet again soon!"

"And you too!" Haro chirped. Kira smiled while Ryo had the X Gundam nod its head slightly as a sign of agreement.

"I missed you very much, Athrun," she smiled, turning back to her fiancé.

"Lacus," he nodded, returning the smile, "You mean…so much to me…" Then, he glanced back at the Strike, which still had its cockpit open and looked at Kira, who was still watching them. "Kira!" he suddenly called out to him, "Come back with us!" This surprised both Kira and Lacus while Ryo simply frowned in disapproval. "You know that if not, then I'll have no choice but to shoot you down!" Athrun continued, "Why remain in the Earth Forces!"

"I too…have no desire to fight you…" Kira replied through gritted teeth, holding his tears back, "But there are people on that ship that I have sworn to protect, Athrun! My friends are on that ship!" Neither Athrun or Lacus said a word until finally, Athrun sighed in defeat and looked at Kira square in the eyes.

"Then in that case…" he frowned, "The next time we meet, I'll shoot you at will!"

"…Same goes for me…" Kira replied determinedly.

"Kira, we should head back," Ryo said, "We've done what we came to do…there's no point in wasting more time out here." Kira nodded and closed his cockpit before the two slowly drifted away, still keeping their weapons trained onto the Aegis.

"It's time," Rau said, "Activate the engines!" As the Vesailius' power came back online, the Commander launched in his Mobile CGUE. This didn't go unnoticed by the Archangel and in fact, Mu had been waiting in the Mobius Zero.

"I knew it!" he frowned as he too launched.

"Commander, what's-" Athrun started but Rau cut him off.

"Athrun, I want you to return to the Vesailius with Ms. Clyne at once," he said. Athrun nodded and gunned the thrusters before flying off.

"Kira, go back to the Archangel," Ryo told him, "I'll cover you." With that, he transformed the X Gundam's beam rifle into a shield and drew its over sized beam sword before charging the Mobile CGUE. "You still owe me for last time, Creuset!" he shouted, brandishing his weapon.

"You again?" Rau smirked, drawing the CGUE's heavy sword, "Well then, in that case…" It was then that Lacus reached over Athrun's arm and hit a few buttons.

"Lacus, what are you doing?" he asked, "It's too dangerous…"

"Commander Rau le Creuset, what do you think your doing?" she asked firmly, "Withdraw at once!"

"Ms. Clyne, with all due respect…"

"Are you listening to me, Commander?" she said, "I will not allow you to engage in battle in the presence of a memorial representative like myself." Scowling a bit, Rau knew that it would be best not to disobey her and so he stopped.

"Very well, Ms. Clyne, I will return to the Vesailius with you," he said, frowning a bit. As the Aegis and CGUE flew off, the X Gundam stopped as well and after watching them leave, turned and headed back after the Strike.

"Kira, Ryo," Mu said to them over the radio, "We need you to come back to the Archangel."

"Understood," Ryo nodded, "On our way."

"What was that all about?" Mu wondered out loud, "All I know is that Ms. Clyne sure is one heck of a princess. You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded, even as tears started to fall down his face, "We're fine." Meanwhile, back on the Archangel, Flay sat up on her bed, her room darkened.

"At this, we'll die," she said to herself, "I won't let things go on like this. Nothing will ever be the same."

-Phase 10: End


	12. The Awakening Sword

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 11- The Awakening Sword

"Normally, I'd ask myself what I did to deserve this," I thought as Natarle droned on about all the different rules that Kira and I had just broken, "But after what's happened the past week, asking that would be plain stupid." Currently, Kira and I were standing in the same room that Lacus had been in when the three senior officers had questioned her. Only this time, the two of us were standing up and this was a hearing; with Mu being our attorney, Natarle being the prosecutor, and Murrue as the judge since she was the highest ranking official on board. Kira was looking nervous and I was doing my best to look calm but if anyone had paid any attention to my left hand, they would have seen that I was picking at my nails frantically with my thumb.

"...and in doing so, we have lost what little protection we have against the enemy attacking us again," Natarle finished, "And so now, this ship and everyone on board has drifted right back to square one!"

"Kira, Ryo," Murrue said, looking at the two of us, "Do you have anything to say?"

"Before I do, Lieutenant Ramius," I replied, stepping forward a bit, "I'd like to ask of you that whatever punishments that you may give, you give them to me and leave Kira out of this. I...I was the one who came up with the idea in the first place..." I sensed that Kira was about to say something but I quickly stepped on his foot and silenced him, hoping that he would keep quiet.

"That's a rather...odd request, Ryo," Murrue blinked, "Is there any reason why you would make one like that?"

"There are things that I have done in my past that I regret deeply," I said, "I've done unimaginable things...horrible things, and yet here I am standing in front of you..."

"Putting aside our lamentations," Natarle suddenly interrupted, "I think it would be best to hear just what he has to say."

"I hope you will not take this to heart, Ensign Badgiruel," I started, "But it sounds to me that you think that Kira and I are...inefficient for defending this ship."

"I said nothing of that sort!"

"Nor did I suggest that you did," I said calmly, "I'm just speaking my mind, Ensign, and I apologize if I have offended you."

"None taken," she huffed, still looking rather irritated, "Now then, let's hear from the defense."

"Right then," Mu replied, looking into a small book, "According to Earth Alliance regulations, it is against the Alliance's laws to use civilians as hostages in any situation." Natarle, on the other hand, had her book closed and on her lap, she undoubtedly knew the whole thing word for word; she and Mu went head to head for a while until finally, Murrue held up a hand and the two fell silent.

"I believe that I've heard enough," she said and then turned to Kira and I, "Kira, Ryo, do you have anything else to say on your behalf?" I shook my head and stepped back but Kira stepped forward.

"I just wanted to say that," he said, "We didn't rescue Ms. Clyne to have her used as a hostage."

"Yeah, if anything," Mu added sarcastically, "either of them could've used her as a girlfriend!" Kira blushed and I rolled my eyes at the statement.

"That's enough, Lieutenant Flaga, watch what you say," Murrue warned, "Now then, are you two aware of what the penalty for treason is in the Earth Forces?"

"Capital Punishment, ma'am," I answered almost immediately, "Execution of the offender."

"Correct," she nodded, "Under normal circumstances, the two of you would have been sentenced to death." I heard Kira tense up behind me and I clenched my fists slightly. "However, these regulations only apply to soldiers of the Earth Alliance," she added with a slight smile, "And seeing as you're not official members, it wouldn't really be right to sentence you to death. So I do believe that you won't have to worry about taking the bullet for anyone, Ryo." Kira sighed in relief behind me and I felt my hands relax as she said, "However, I will ask that you both think deeply about your actions. You may leave."

"Congrats," Mu winked as we turned to leave, "Just try not to step out of line next time." Kira smiled and nodded and I nodded as well but as we were about to leave, something unexpected happened.

"Hold it, Ryo," Natarle suddenly said, "I believe you still owe us an explanation about what happened in the previous battle...and what you said to me in the Debris Belt."

"Crap, how did I know it would all come down to this?" I thought, stopping in my tracks. For a minute, I hesitated but then turned around and faced them. "Alright then," I sighed, "I suppose you of all people should know." Murrue nodded and Kira turned with an inquiring look on his face. "Go on, Kira," I said to him, "I'll catch up with you later." Though his eyes showed confusion, he slowly nodded and left the room, leaving me alone with the three senior officers.

"So, kid," Mu finally started after a brief silence, "What's up?" At first, I was compelled to stay quiet but then I remembered that I had already agreed to stay and that there was no backing out now.

"I hope you're all comfortable," I sighed, trying to lighten up the mood a little, "Because this might take a while to explain." Having said that, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and began to talk. At first, I felt like I had to force the words out of my mouth but as I went on, my mouth seemed to go on autopilot and soon, I was telling the whole story without fully knowing what I was saying. With each word that I spoke, a different image would flash in my mind as I told them everything. How the X Gundam was a ZAFT model, how it had been hidden on Junius Seven, and how I had come to be its pilot. When I finished explaining how the Satellite Cannon worked, however, the three of them seemed to become very interested.

"So you're saying that this weapon can take down a colony?" Murrue asked.

"Yes," I nodded, "That brings me to my next point. I used the cannon against the Mobius units but when almost all of them were destroyed, one of their nuclear missiles detonated nearby and..." It was here that my voice refused to cooperate with me any longer. Swallowing the growing lump in my throat, I finally choked out, "I...I lost...I lost control of it..."

"And...?" Natarle asked, cocking an eyebrow, "You lost control of it and..."

"I...I..." I stammered but every time I tried speak, my throat only tightened, "I...the colony...I...no, no, I can't...! I didn't mean to..." At this, I couldn't speak another word; I turned and looked down at my feet so that my hair fell in front of my eyes. I could feel what was left of my nails digging into my palms and tiny pin-pricks of pain as they began to pierce the skin from clenching my fists too hard. Shaking my head a bit, I gritted my teeth and struggled not to let everything out; I knew that I was going to look like an idiot if I broke down in front of the three of them. I heard someone gasp and I dared to look up and saw that Murrue had her hands over her mouth and her eyes were wide; I guessed that she had figured it out.

"Oh my..." she whispered, quickly getting up and coming over to me, "Oh, oh Ryo..." She raised her arms and I drew back, thinking she was going to hit me. Instead, much to my surprise, she placed her hands on my shoulders.

"L-Lieutenant...Ramius?" I asked, startled. I glanced at the other two and they didn't seem to be too affected by this; in fact, they were approaching too, which confused me greatly.

"It must have been horrible," Murrue sighed, "And you've been keeping it in all this time..."

"Look, kid," Mu smiled, "You really shouldn't be putting all this pressure on yourself. It was an accident, you set out with just intentions and that's all that matters."

"But...all those people," I blinked, "I...what I did...how can you..."

"We won't hold you accountable for it, Ryo," Murrue assured, "No one else in the Earth Forces will know about this." This time, I blinked a few times before looking at the others, who were smiling. I was confused beyond all reason.

"After all that I've done," I thought, "How can they just feel sorry for me when they have every right to hate me?" As I thought this, I grew frustrated as well and I felt my eyes sting a bit.

"I know it must hurt," she said, "Ryo, it's alright, we'll understand..." It was more than I could handle,

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"So, how did it go, Kira?" Sai asked as his friend stepped out from the room, "Where's Ryo?"

"Still inside," he replied, "I think Ensign Badgiruel wanted to ask him something. Other than that, it went pretty well, Ryo and I got off pretty easy."

"Well, you guys sure are lucky," Miriallia sighed, "Murdoch was so mad at us for helping you make off with that Lacus girl that he assigned us to a week of toilet duty." Kira was thankful that no one inside had heard because he was sure that they would have assigned him to the toilets as well if they did. Just then, they heard a minor commotion coming from inside the room but when Kira tried to open the door to see, he found to his dismay that it was locked.

"What do you think is going on in there?" he asked, putting his ear to the door.

"I don't know," Sai said, "I just hope it's nothing serious." While the three of them stood outside the door wondering just what was going on inside, Kira could have sworn that he had heard the sounds of someone crying in the room. This caused him to grow slightly concerned but soon, the sound subsided and minutes later, the door opened and Ryo stepped out.

"What was that all about?" Kira asked before noticing that his eyes were somewhat red, "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryo nodded, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, "They just wanted a word with me, that's all." Miriallia looked at Sai and he shrugged but didn't push the issue. "Well, no point in standing out here all day," he finally shrugged and smiled a bit, "We might as well walk around a bit." The others nodded, relieved to see him in a better mood and started down a hallway. They began to talk casually and at one point, Sai asked Kira his opinion on Lacus.

"Well, she's nice," Kira replied, although Ryo could see a faint blush on his face, "And very honest."

"You forgot good-looking, you oaf," Ryo said and Kira's face reddened even more.

"Yeah? Well what do you think of her, Ryo?" Miriallia asked smartly while Sai laughed.

"I agree with Kira, she is very kind," Ryo answered, not bothered by the question, "But she's way too trusting for her own good in my eyes; she's kind of bubble-headed too. And that Haro she carries around, I don't see how she puts up with it everyday." The others laughed at his last comment and that was when Sai remembered something that had been on his mind.

"So, Kira," he said, "Kuzzey told us that he overheard the two of you talking with that girl the other day."

"Oh?" Kira asked, turning to his friend, feeling slightly nervous.

"So that's what I heard moving..." Ryo thought to himself, "Kuzzey..."

"I understand that the pilot of the Aegis is an old friend of yours," Sai added and at this, Kira stopped in his tracks out of shock and the others did as well. It just so happened that Flay was coming down a separate hallway and heard this statement. Naturally, she too stopped out of surprise and listened. "I have to say, Kira, that I was pretty worried about you," he continued before his smiled and said, "But I sure am glad that you came back just like you said you would." At this, Kira calmed down and smiled a bit, relieved that his friends understood. "Well, we'd better report to the bridge for our shift," he said, "We'll see you guys later." The two Coordinators nodded and watched them head to the lift; Miriallia winked as they left.

"What now?" Kira asked, "We don't have much to do..."

"There's always working on the Mobile Suits," Ryo shrugged, "I still need to see if I can get that Scylla Cannon working for both modes." As the two went off to the nearby elevator, Ryo sensed a presence nearby and frowned but ignored it. Once they were gone, Flay emerged from her hiding spot, floating dazedly to a nearby wall before looking over to the elevator that the two pilots had gone into. Memories of the destruction of her father's ship flashed through her head and her hands slowly clenched themselves into fists.

"A friend...!" she thought to herself furiously.

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"Now that Athrun's gotten his fiancé back," Yzak said, "We're now able to attack the Legged Ship freely. However, we'll only have ten minutes before the rest of the 8th Fleet shows up at this point."

"I dunno," Nicol frowned, "Such a small window of attack...I don't like this."

"That's why you're a coward." Meanwhile, on the Vesailius, Athrun was walking down one of the hallways when all of a sudden, a pink grapefruit-sized ball came bouncing from the other way and he caught it just before it hit him in the face.

"Lacus," he sighed as the pink-haired Coordinator appeared after her toy, "We're on combat alert, you shouldn't be out wandering around like this."

"Oh," she replied, "I'm sorry, Athrun."

"It's fine," he said and then asked her something that he had been wondering about, "Lacus, when you were held hostage aboard the Legged Ship...were you scared?"

"No, not at all," Lacus smiled, "In fact, it was a very pleasant experience. The two Mobile Suit pilots were both very kind to me; one of them was an old friend of mine from my childhood days."

"Who was it?" Athrun asked, suddenly curious.

"Ryo Mouri," she said, "My father knew his father and we met many years ago in Aprilius City, but I must say that he's changed quite a bit since then. And Kira is a very sweet person but also quite strong, I can see why the two of you are such good friends."

"He's a fool," Athrun muttered, "Letting the Naturals use him like this and using his friends as an excuse. He's only with the Naturals because his parents aren't Coordinators."

"You seem rather bitter these days, Athrun," Lacus sighed, "Why are you so sad?"

"No one can fight a war and wear a smile at the same time," he explained, "No one that I know, that is."

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"You know, I've been wondering," Sai said, "What's gonna happen after we link up with the 8th Fleet? Are we gonna be allowed to go home?"

"I dunno," Kuzzey sighed as he remembered what Murrue had said back on Heliopolis, "Lieutenant Ramius sounded pretty serious when she said that we were gonna have to stay."

"Yeah, but still-" Sai started to say but was cut off when both Kira and Ryo came into the cafeteria. Kira cast them an odd look as Ryo went to get a drink before Kuzzey glanced away quickly to avoid making eye contact. It was about then that Flay also appeared in the doorway, causing the other occupants to look up at her.

"Flay?" Tiffa asked, "You're feeling better?"

"Flay, you should be resting," Sai told her, standing up.

"I'm fine," she said, brushing past him and instead, going over to the two pilots. Seeing her coming, Ryo looked back to his drink and went back to filling it.

"What is it, Flay?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Kira, Ryo," she began, looking slightly uneasy, "I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier." At this, everyone blinked in surprise and even Ryo looked up in interest. "It's just…I was in such a mad panic," Flay continued, "And I said some things that I shouldn't have. You were out there fighting for us and yet I…"

"Flay, please!" Kira suddenly said, "Don't be so hard on yourself! We were all a bit stressed out."

"I know that you were doing your best," she sighed, "And yet…yet I…" At this, she faltered and after a few minutes, Kira smiled.

"Ah Flay," he said, "Thank you. I'm just sorry I couldn't save your dad."

"War is a terrible thing, isn't it?" she asked and then lowered her face a little, "I just wish it would hurry up and end." At her last words, Ryo frowned. There was something about the way that she had said it that made him question her real motives. He wasn't the only one either; Sai was also glancing at Flay suspiciously.

"I'll see you guys later," Ryo suddenly said, "I just remembered I have to go do something." With that, he set his barely touched drink on a table, glanced at Tiffa once, and then left. Tiffa caught on immediately and stood up from her seat as well.

"I'm going to get some sleep," she told them, "I'm still a little tired." Having said that, she left as well and found Ryo waiting for her in the hallway. When he saw her, he turned and started down the hallway at an easy pace, allowing her to catch up easily.

"So, what do you think of that?" he asked after a while.

"I think it's very nice that you and Flay have finally made peace with one another," she smiled.

"I don't know," Ryo sighed, "There was something about her voice…it sounded almost like insanity."

"She did sound a little strange," Tiffa nodded, "And it is rather odd that she forgave you so quickly after what she said before."

"I don't like this, Tiffa," he frowned, "I've got a real bad feeling about Flay." On the bridge, Petty Officer Pal was busy monitoring the radar when suddenly, the screen filled with static for a second and then three red dots appeared on it.

"The radar's being jammed!" he announced, "I've confirmed three hostile contacts! X-102, X-103, and X-207!"

"Alright then," Murrue nodded and sounded the battle alert, "Attention! All hands at Level One battle stations! Repeat, all hands at Level One battle stations! All non-combatants please remain in your quarters!"

"Well that's just great," Mu sighed, looking up from the magazine that he was reading, "I'll never finish this thing at this rate…" Back near the cafeteria, Tiffa and Ryo heard the battle alert and went back so that Tiffa could return to her room and Ryo could get to the lift to the dock. At around this time, a little girl was running down the hallway the other way and the students were coming out.

"Everyone, it's another war!" she shouted, "We're gonna have another war again!" As Kira came out of the cafeteria, she couldn't stop in time and ran right into him with enough force to send her sprawling backwards. As she slowly got up, Kira turned to help her but Flay got to her first.

"I'm so sorry!" Flay said, helping her up, "Kira was in a hurry and didn't see you!" It was around this time that Ryo and Tiffa arrived and Sai and Kuzzey gave them a quick greeting before going onto the lift and holding it for Kira.

"Kira, come on!" Ryo called out, "Go on, Tiffa." She nodded and went off but Flay heard him and looked at him then back to the little girl.

"It'll be okay," she smiled, "Kira and Ryo will be fighting to protect the ship."

"Really?" the other girl asked, amazed.

"Yup," Flay nodded, "They're gonna go out there and beat up all the bad guys."

"Kira, hurry up!" Ryo shouted, "If we're gonna to get to the dock anytime soon, we'd better go now!" Seeing that Flay had everything under control, Kira turned and hurried over to the lift and the others activated it when he was on.

"That's right," Flay said, standing up with a small smile while still holding the girl's hand, "We have to make sure they get rid of them _all_." Unwittingly, she increased her grip on the girl's hand until she yelped in pain and tugged her hand away before running off, leaving the red-head standing there alone. In the dock, Kira and Ryo had already boarded their Mobile Suits and were waiting for launch clearance; Mu had already launched in the Mobius Zero.

"The enemies that you're up against are the Laurasia Class, Duel, Buster, and the Blitz," Miriallia informed them as the Aile Striker was installed onto the Strike Gundam, "Good luck, you two."

"Kira Yamato, launch!"

"Ryo Mouri, blast off!" By the time the two had activated their Phase Shift Armor, Ryo could see that the three enemy Gundams had assumed a tight formation and were back to back. "I don't like this," he frowned, "They're hiding something…" Then he remembered and activated his radio, "Archangel, steer over to the right! Duel, Buster, and Blitz are concealing the Laurasia class so that it can fire its cannons at us!" It was not a moment too soon, a burst of concentrated energy shot from the Gamow's cannons and the three Gundams separated to let it through.

"Evasive maneuvers! Starboard!" Natarle ordered and Neumann immediately turned the ship right and barely avoided the shot.

"Damn! That was so close!" Yzak swore as he went after the Strike, "How the hell did they see through our formation!" Meanwhile, Mu had gone after the Buster Gundam but even though he was a good pilot, his linear gun and wired gunbarrels were useless against Phase Shift Armor. Seeing this, Ryo fired the X Gundam's beam rifle at the tan Mobile Suit but it dodged before the shot could hit it. Noticing that the others were busy, Nicole activated the Blitz Gundam's Mirage Colloid and flew towards the Archangel.

"I've lost the Blitz!" Tonomura said, "It must've activated Mirage Colloid!"

"Deploy Anti-beam Depth-charges!" Natarle ordered and moments later, the Blitz fired at the Archangel but the beam was absorbed by the invisible shield.

"Archangel, use the Blitz Gundam's shots to counter-attack!" Ryo said into his radio, "Aim at the point of origin of where the beams are coming from!"

"Of course!" Natarle thought, "If we watch where it's shooting from, we can track the Blitz's movements as well…" She waited until she saw another beam and then ordered, "Anti-air warheads, fire!" The missile pods along the bridge opened up and launched several warheads at the invisible Gundam. Halfway there, they split apart and fired several smaller rounds from the bases. Nicole was forced to deactivate the camouflage so that he could use his Phase Shift Armor and raised his shield just before the Blitz was peppered with the counter-fire.

"I forgot, you guys were the ones who built this thing," he smiled, "Of course you'd know its weaknesses!" Saying that, he flew aside before disappearing again.

"Gottfrieds, aim, fire!" Both of the Archangel's main cannons fired at the Gamow but the ship dodged and both shots went wide. "Valiant one, aim, fire!" Natarle ordered, "Valiant two, follow up after two seconds!" Both guns fired but once again, the Gamow avoided them.

"Strike, isn't that what you're called!" Yzak asked as he flew in and drew the Duel's beam saber; Kira, seeing this, put his beam rifle away and drew the Strike's before the two clashed. "You're good, I'll give you that," the platinum-haired Coordinator said, "But you won't get away this time!"

"I won't be defeated out here!" Kira retorted and fought back aggressively, remembering what Flay had said back on the ship, that it was up to him and Ryo to protect the Archangel and everyone on it. At that moment, the Gamow fired again and as the Archangel turned to avoid it, the Blitz suddenly rematerialized beside the ship's hull and landed on it.

"The Blitz has reappeared!" Pal exclaimed, "It's right next to the hull!" Suddenly, the bridge shook as the Blitz began to shoot at the hull at point blank range.

"The cooling systems can't seem to keep up!" Chandra reported, "Armor temperatures are continuing to rise!"

"Kira, Ryo! Come back!" Miriallia said, "The Blitz is too close to the hull! We can't shoot at it without risking damaging the ship!" Kira zoomed his camera in on the Archangel and saw to his horror that she was right.

"No!"

"Crap!" Ryo swore, "Mu, I'm pulling back to help the Archangel, cover me!"

"Will do!" Mu nodded and used his Gunbarrels to hold back the Buster while the X Gundam flew off towards its mother-ship

."The Archangel," Kira and Ryo thought at the same time, "I won't let you destroy it!" What happened next was simultaneous, both of them saw nothing but black and then all of a sudden, a shining purple seed surrounded by a glowing rainbow of colors appeared in their minds. It rotated a bit as it descended and then it hit some invisible surface and shattered like glass. Their eyes opened up again to reveal that the irises were now dulled to a paler color and their pupils had shrunken drastically.

"You're finished!" Yzak shouted and gunned the Duel's thrusters but Kira easily outmaneuvered it and before Yzak could blink, it was behind him before it sliced into the Duel's torso with its saber, damaging it before flying off. "Take this!" he snarled, frustrated as he fired the Duel's beam rifle at the retreating Strike as it put its beam saber away, which dodged his shots just as easily before he gave chase. Before long, the Strike and X Gundams met up and flew right at an unsuspecting Nicole who was continuing his assault.

"Stop that right now!" Kira shouted angrily and Nicole barely had time to dodge as the X Gundam drew its oversized beam saber and swung at it. Just as the Blitz flew off, however, the Strike came up from right under it and kneed it in the face, knocking it back and shaking its cockpit quite a bit.

"Now I've got you!" Yzak declared triumphantly but Kira turned around and drew an Armor Schneider knife before plunging it into the damaged part of the Duel's torso just as the X Gundam stabbed it through the other side with its saber. The result was a small explosion in the Duel's cockpit right in front of Yzak; with some of the flying shrapnel cracking his helmet's visor and cutting deep into his face. If the cockpit had been damaged so that there was a hole in it, he would have surely been killed by the vacuum of space.

"Yzak!" Nicole called out and quickly retrieved the damaged unit before noticing something on his sensors, "Dearka, we have to pull back! The enemy fleet is coming!"

"Dammit," Dearka swore and the three immediately flew off back towards the Gamow.

"Yzak, are you alright?" Nicole asked, "Yzak, say something!"

"It burns…" was all that the injured pilot could say, clutching his hands over his cracked visor, "It burns…it burns!..." Meanwhile, both Kira and Ryo had returned to normal and Kira was quickly catching his breath when he heard Pal announce some good news.

"The 8th Fleet is here!" he said and Kira breathed a sigh of relief, even Ryo smiled a bit when he saw the blinking lights in the distance. Inside the ship, however, Flay was sitting on her bed, the room only dimly lit.

"That's right, we have to make sure he gets rid of them all," she smiled oddly, "Other wise, this war will never come to an end."

-Phase 11: End


	13. Flay's Decision

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 12- Flay's Decision

"It's such a shame that we must part ways after getting to see each other again after so long," Lacus sighed as Athrun escorted her to her shuttle, "We will see each other again, I hope?"

"Of course," Athrun smiled as they landed near the hatch and the pink-haired princess smiled as well.

"What is it that one should be fighting against? The question makes the war very difficult to fight." she suddenly asked, surprising Athrun, "Well, I'd best be off. Athrun, Commander Creuset, thank you for everything." Rau saluted her quickly and Lacus smiled before boarding the shuttle. Later, as Athrun and Rau watched the shuttle fly off through a viewing bay, Rau turned to Athrun and repeated Lacus' words.

"What _is_ it that one should be fighting against?" he asked before looking back out the window, "Did you hear about what happened to Yzak?"

"Yes," Athrun nodded, "He was wounded by an explosion in his cockpit."

"It was the Strike and X," Rau said, "So what's it going to be? Will you shoot them down or be shot down by them?" At this, he turned and left the confused ZAFT Elite standing near the window, who turned back to the glass a moment later.

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"Rotate us 180 degrees starboard," Murrue ordered, "Decelerate engines until they match the speed of the Menelaos." The Archangel's starboard engines flashed as the ship began to slow down and eventually merged with the fleet before pulling alongside the slightly larger Agamemnon-class carrier; surrounding it were nearly sixty Nelson-class and Marseille III-class battleships. Together, they formed the Earth Forces' 8th Mobility Fleet, led by Rear Admiral Lewis Halberton. On the bridge, the students were watching on a view screen with the crew and they were all impressed; all of them except for Ryo, that is.

"Wow, it's so big!" Miriallia said, "No wonder everyone was so glad to see the fleet!"

"Yeah, I know I'm sure glad to see it," Kuzzey nodded before turning to the two pilots, "Isn't this great?" Kira nodded but Ryo frowned as he studied the image on the screen.

"Ryo? What is it?" Tolle asked, noticing his friend's expression.

"It's too tight."

"What do you mean?" Sai asked, confused by his words, "I think it looks fine…"

"Their formation is too cramped," Ryo explained, "At such a distance, their ships present a huge target for high energy weapons, especially to the main guns on ZAFT vessels and the bazookas that Ginns carry; not to mention they'll be sitting ducks for the Mobile Suits that ZAFT stole." Kira looked back at the screen and saw that he had a point. The ships were bunched together dangerously close and while this allowed them to focus their fire on a certain point much more efficiently, they wouldn't be able move as quickly without risking slamming into one another; at best, they could only narrowly dodge shots. It also didn't help that the ships were very slow and cumbersome compared to the agile Ginns and the four stolen Mobile Suits that were housed aboard the enemy ships. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was busy talking about Admiral Halberton and what he was really like.

"He was the biggest supporter of the project that made the Archangel and the G-weapons," Murrue explained, "He's coming to the ship in person to get a good look at the Strike since it's the only one we have except for the X. I heard that the civilians from Heliopolis are to transfer to the Menelaos via shuttle as well." The students heard this and looked at one another uncertainly.

"Civilians?" Kira said, "Does that…include us too?"

"I dunno," Ryo shrugged, "I mean, we never formally enlisted to the forces…" As the students were discussing this, Murrue, Mu, and Natarle had left the bridge and made their way to the lift when Natarle suddenly brought up a question.

"Lieutenant Ramius," Natarle said, "About the Strike and X…what will become of them now that we have joined the fleet? We can't just let their pilots go just like that."

"Kira and Ryo are not official members of the Earth Forces and only fought for this ship due to situations beyond their control," Murrue replied, "None of us can force them to fight."

"But their abilities are very valuable," Natarle argued, "They could be of much use to our efforts."

"I will not pressure either of them to fight against ZAFT," the head officer said sternly, "Not after all that they've done and gone through for us." Later, Kira and Ryo had left the bridge and gone down to the Mobile Suit dock to aid in repairing the Mobius Zero.

"Why are we in such a rush to get it fixed?" Kira asked at one point, "We're safe now that we're with the fleet, aren't we?"

"I wish, but most of the Mobile Armor pilots in the 8th Fleet are rookies," Murdoch replied, "We have to be ready to launch the Zero in case it's needed."

"He's right," Ryo nodded, "Lieutenant Flaga has more experience in space combat than all of the pilots in this fleet put together. They'll need him to help fight against any enemies we're bound to run into." Kira nodded his understanding but then blinked when he remembered something.

"What about the Strike and X Gundams?" he asked, "What's gonna happen to them?"

"I'm sure that the Earth Forces will want them back so that they can keep making more," Ryo said, "They'll need the data to make replacements for the ones that were lost or possibly mass produce them." He suddenly turned his head over to the door and Kira looked to see Murrue approaching. "Lieutenant Ramius?" Ryo asked and stood up, "What brings you here? Is there a problem?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head and smiling, "I was just wondering if I could have a word with you and Kira."

"Um, okay," Ryo nodded and gestured to Kira for him to follow before the three of them pushed off into the "air".

"I really must apologize for not getting to know the two of you better or talking to you much," Murrue said when they had arrived on the platform in front of the Strike Gundam, "I just wanted to thank you personally for all that you've done for the ship until and I think that I speak for the entire crew when I say that I'm very grateful to have had you two aboard. You both made great sacrifices to protect us and wanted to thank you in person before you left."

"Left? What do you mean?" Kira asked.

"The two of you are not official members of the Earth Alliance," she explained, "And therefore, once the civilians from Heliopolis leave, you will be going with them."

"Oh, I see," he nodded and smiled.

"Well, I'd best be off," she said, "Admiral Halberton will be arriving from the Menelaos any minute now and I'm supposed to meet with him after he comes aboard." With that, she shook hands with them both and then left.

"So, I guess this means we'll be going home, huh, Ryo?" Kira smiled and looked at his friend but then saw a troubled look on his face, "Ryo, what is it?"

"You go on, Kira," he suddenly said, "I'll catch up with you later." With that, he vaulted over the rail and quickly floated over to the door where Murrue was about to leave through. "Lieutenant Ramius!" he called out, "Hold on a sec'!"

"Ryo?" she asked, turning around to face him, "Is something the matter."

"Well, you see," Ryo began, "About what you said a few seconds ago…about leaving…I've been thinking about that for a while…"

"What do you mean?" Murrue said, curious as to what he was saying.

"Well, as you well know, I lost my family to the Bloody Valentine," he said, "And I don't have any relatives on Earth or on PLANT either. Ever since Heliopolis collapsed, this ship has been my home and now that I've been here for a few weeks, I've grown kind of attached to it." As Murrue tried to decipher what he was hinting at, he finally said, "Lieutenant Ramius, with your consent, please allow me to remain aboard the Archangel as a formal member of the Earth Alliance Forces so that I can continue to protect the ship that served as my home and the people aboard it!"

"W-what are you saying, Ryo?" Murrue stammered, startled by the request, "This isn't a game!"

"It's the least I can do to repay you for your kindness," Ryo explained, "The crew on this ship has become like a second family to me; they treated me with the same kindness and respect that they show each other even though I'm a Coordinator and they're Naturals. I'm obligated to repay that kindness, Lieutenant."

"Listen, Ryo," Murrue said, "I'm grateful for your help and that you're willing to stay, but you're still a teenager. You have your whole life ahead of you…"

"What good would that life be if I'm just sitting around doing nothing while you guys risk your lives everyday for your homes?" Ryo asked, "Besides, haven't you ever heard the saying 'Big things come in small packages'?"

"Yes, but there's the paperwork…"

"Tsch, Lieutenant, I'm a Coordinator, remember?" Ryo grinned, "I'll have it filled out faster than you can say 'Alaska'." Murrue smiled at the joke but deep down, she was touched by his courage and determination. He had already served aboard the ship valiantly and risked his life during every battle to ensure their safety but now here he was saying that he was willing to continue fighting.

"Alright then," she said, "I'll give you the papers after I've met with the Admiral." Ryo smiled and nodded before turning.

"I'll leave you to your task, then," he said, "There's something I need to do first." Later, in the shuttle bay, the shuttle from the Menelaos had arrived, carrying Admiral Halberton and his assistant, Captain Hoffman. All of the officers on who were present snapped a salute to their senior officer and were told to be at ease.

"I'm impressed that you reached us safely. It's good to see you again, Lieutenant Ramius," the Admiral nodded, "Is everyone on the ship alright?"

"They're fine, Admiral," Murrue nodded, "It's good to see you too." Halberton nodded before heading over to the students, who were also present.

"So you must be the kids from Heliopolis," he said, "I'd like to thank all of you for your hard work and I'll have you know that all of your families have been located in ORB." This brought a large sigh of relief from them; except for Ryo and Tiffa. "Ah, and you must be Ryo Mouri," Halberton said to the former, "I was rather curious when I found your name on the crew list and thought that I'd come see you myself. Your father and I met once, you know."

"Is that so?" Ryo asked, not wanting to talk about his father at the moment.

"Oh, I see you don't want to talk about him, huh?" he said, "I understand; I was shocked myself when I heard the news." He looked at the others and said, "Well, I'll be off now. You kids should go and get ready to leave." With that, he turned and left with the senior officers and the students left as well.

"I didn't know your dad knew the Admiral, Ryo," Miriallia said at one point.

"Well, the truth is," Ryo sighed, "I didn't either."

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"The Gamow and Ziegler have arrived," Captain Ades announced, "But something's not right. Take a look at this." He pointed to a display and said, "The Legged Ship has merged with the 8th Fleet, we expected them to head for the moon. But judging by their current trajectory, it seems likely that the Legged Ship is headed for Earth."

"Hmm, so they're heading for JOSH-A, are they?" Rau asked, "The 8th Fleet is lead by Rear Admiral Lewis Halberton, a veteran who is well versed in the use of Mobile Armors in battle. He must have realized that two Mobile Suits and a Mobile Armor alone wouldn't be sufficient defense for the Legged Ship to reach the moon safely." Thinking a bit, he then asked, "What is our battle status?"

"The Ziegler has five Ginns on board, the Gamow has three of the stolen Mobile Suits and we have the last one as well as three Ginns," Ades replied, "That makes of a total of twelve units."

"Good, prepare all units for battle," Rau ordered, "We must attack and destroy the Legged Ship before it reaches the Earth!"

"Yes sir!"

"I think it's about time that we retired our renowned Admiral Halberton from the game," Rau thought with a grin as the Captain left to issue battle commands. Meanwhile, the said Admiral was meeting with the senior officers of the Archangel discussing the future.

"Much of the Senior Staff in Alaska feels that the Archangel and the two G-weapons it recovered aren't worth the destruction of Heliopolis," he explained, "I'm not sure why the ZAFT continues to pursue the Archangel but I am glad that everyone on board is safe."

"Sir, what about the pilots of those units?" Hoffman asked, "What will we do with them?"

"Ryo has already told me that he wishes to formally enlist with the Archangel but Kira is still just a civilian," Murrue said, "We should repay him with complete efforts with trust."

"But we can't just let someone with his abilities go," Natarle argued, "We should make him join the military and provide the ship with assistance."

"I agree with Lieutenant Ramius on this one," Halberton said, "It's clear that the boy has no wish to fight for the Earth Forces."

"What if we take his parents hostage?" Natarle asked, "If we force him to fight-" She was cut off when Halberton slammed his fist onto the desk.

"Ensign Badgiruel, stop saying such nonsense!" he frowned, "What use would that kind of soldier be?" Startled, Natarle immediately backed down and apologized. "The past is not important, it's what happens now that matters," he said, "This ship is to descend to Earth to the main headquarters in Alaska."

"Not the moon, but JOSH-A?" Murrue asked.

"Central Command has also ordered that the civilians be transported to ORB via shuttle."

"That's insane!" Murrue exclaimed, "It's much too dangerous to launch a defenseless shuttle while under attack by ZAFT!"

"I know," Halberton frowned, "But the ORB Union is currently accusing the Earth Forces as using the civilians as human shields. They have requested the immediate release of all refugees."

"But we're not-!"

"I'm aware of that," the Admiral said, "I suspect that they're being pressured by ZAFT Operatives." It was around this time that two FX-550 Skygrasper atmospheric combat units were being loaded into the Archangel's Mobile Suit dock.

"But if we descend into the atmosphere, then the Archangel will be defenseless as well," Must pointed out.

"That's what we're here for," Halberton replied, "We won't let the ZAFT lay a hand on the ship, even if the entire 8th Fleet has to go down in the process." The others were stunned by his words, they had no idea that the situation was that desperate.

"Due to the elimination of the advance fleet, we also lost the replacement crew members that were intended for the Archangel," Hoffman explained, "Therefore, we have no additional crew available for the ship at this time."

"Lieutenant Ramius, you must get the Archangel and the Strike down to Alaska so that the Strike's development can be completed," Halberton said, "We've got to get the development of the G-weapons back on track; ZAFT will no doubt continue to create new machines to send out to the battlefield and we have to be ready for that." All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door and everyone looked up before Murrue told the person to come in. The door opened and Ryo stuck his head in before looking around the room and becoming quite surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said quickly, "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, I believe we're done," Murrue replied, "Is there something you needed, Ryo?"

"I thought I'd stop by for the paperwork," Ryo answered, "You told me to come pick it up when you were done but I can come back later if you want…"

"That won't be necessary," Murrue smiled and looked at the Admiral, who moved aside so that Murrue could get to one of the drawers at the desk. Opening it, she pulled out a small stack of papers and a pen before Ryo came forward and picked it up. After quickly scanning the lines and reading it to himself, he took the pen and placed his signature on the paper. "Well then, it's settled," Murrue said, and shook hands with him, "Welcome to the Earth Forces, Senior Chief Petty Officer Mouri."

"S-Senior Chief Petty Officer?" Ryo stammered, "Lieutenant, are you sure? That's a very prestigious rank and I only just enlisted…"

"Don't stress yourself," Halberton smiled, "You of all people have earned. Oh, and I also have one more thing to tell you." When he had their attention, he explained, "In merit of your achievements thus far, the entire crew of the Archangel has been advanced in rank."

"Advanced in rank?" Mu asked, "You mean we've been promoted?"

"Exactly," he nodded before looking to Ryo, "That means you as well, _Master_ Chief Petty Officer Mouri."

"Master Chief Petty Officer…" Ryo muttered and shook his head as they left, "What a day…"

"You should be proud, Master Chief Petty Officer Mouri," Natarle said, "Not many people can earn that rank in such a short amount of time."

"You're right, _Lieutenant_ Badgiruel," Ryo smiled, "But a simple 'Master Chief Mouri' will do; the whole name is pretty tedious to say and hear." Natarle cracked a rare smile and went off with Hoffman while Mu headed to the dock to get ready. "Well, I guess this means we'll be able to get to know each other better after all, Lieutenant Commander Ramius," he said.

"I suppose it does," she nodded, "I'd better go back to the bridge to give the announcement." Ryo nodded and went off as well. Later, he came into a room where his friends were busy packing.

"Oh, there you are, Ryo," Sai said, "We were wondering where you've been."

"You should really start packing now," Tolle added, "The shuttle leaves in about half an hour."

"Oh," Ryo sighed, "Well, about that…I'm not going to the Menelaos or ORB."

"Not going? But why?" Miriallia asked but then it dawned on her and she gasped, "Oh, Ryo, don't tell me you…"

"The paperwork's been filled out," he replied with a small smile, "I'm now formally enlisted aboard the Archangel as the Master Chief."

"Master Chief?" Kuzzey asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"It's short for 'Master Chief Petty Officer'," Ryo explained, "I'm staying on the ship as a Mobile Suit pilot."

"But I thought that you didn't want to fight in the war," Tiffa said, looking a bit upset, "After all that's happened…"

"Listen, some things just can't be helped," Ryo sighed, "All of you know by now that I'm responsible for the deaths during the Bloody Valentine, including those of my family. I can't stop fighting until I've made amends to all of the people I killed and laid their souls to rest. In order to do that, I have to keep going until the wars over and there's peace, that's when I can rest." Noticing that the others were looking particularly concerned, he smiled and added, "Hey, don't look so glum. I'll tell you what; the moment this war ends, I'll book the first shuttle to ORB that I can find and go over there to visit all of you, how's that sound?"

"Alright," Tolle smiled, "Just make sure you make it through so you can do that!"

"Deal," Ryo nodded, "Well, I'd better go tell Kira. I'll see you guys later in the shuttle bay." With that, he turned and left but not even five minutes had passed before Natarle and Hoffman appeared in the doorway with several sheets of paper.

"Oh, Ensign Badgiruel," Sai said, "Did you need something?"

"I just needed to deliver these to you," she replied before noticing Kira was missing and added, "I see that Kira Yamato isn't here. Well, can you make sure you give this to him? They're your discharge papers."

"D-discharge papers?" Miriallia asked, taking hers and looking at it, "You mean we were in the army the whole time?"

"Volunteer soldiers aboard the Archangel of the 8th Mobility Fleet!" Kuzzey read aloud from his own.

"Even in an emergency situation, it's illegal for civilians to participate in military action," Hoffman explained, "In order to bypass that regulation, we arranged retroactively that you enlisted as volunteers prior to the collapse of Heliopolis."

"No way…" Sai frowned.

"Any information while you were onboard is to remain strictly confi-"

"Excuse me," Flay suddenly interrupted and Hoffman looked at her as she raised her hand and added, "I'd like…to volunteer for the Earth Alliance Forces and stay onboard the Archangel." Meanwhile, in the Mobile Suit dock, Kira was standing on the Strike Gundam's cockpit and getting one last look at it when all of a sudden, he heard someone call his name. Turning, he was surprised to see Ryo coming over to him, still dressed in his uniform.

"Ryo?" he asked, "What are you still doing in uniform? Shouldn't you be packing?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Kira," his friend replied, "I'm staying on the Archangel as a Mobile Suit pilot so that I can keep on protecting it."

"You…volunteered?" Kira asked, surprised to hear this.

"Yeah," Ryo nodded, "I'm gonna see this war through to the end, no matter where it takes me."

"Feeling a bit nostalgic now that you have to part with it?" someone called out from below and the two looked to see Admiral Halberton looking up at them.

"Well, I guess I am a bit sorry to leave it behind," Kira confessed, "After all that it's been through, I've kind of grown a little attached to it."

"I see what you mean," Halberton smiled, "I can't help but remain amazed by the abilities that you Coordinators possess. The G-weapons were originally built to just repel ZAFT Mobile Suits, but it becomes more of a super weapon when you're piloting it. I also understand that your parents are Naturals; part of me wonders what they were hoping to achieve by making you a Coordinator."

"Well, it's really not that great when you think about it," Kira sighed, thinking of all the times Flay had shouted at him because he was a Coordinator.

"I understand," the Admiral nodded, "Although your abilities are tempting to have in the military but it takes more than two people to win a war."

"But…if I have the power to do something," Kira said, "Shouldn't I put it to good use?"

"Power means nothing if you don't have the will," he replied, shaking his head, "If you can't see it through to the end, then why engage in something so complicated at all?"

"So what's gonna happen to the Archangel and the Strike?" Kira asked.

"The ship will be heading down to Earth and once repairs are done, back to the battlefield," Halberton said, "Your friend here's going to, though I'm sure he's already told you." At that moment, another officer from the Menelaos came and whispered something into his ear before he nodded. "Well, I'm needed back on my own ship," he said, "May the two of you live to see the dawn of a new era!" With that, he saluted them and winked before leaving. Ryo watched him leave before looking at his watch and his eyes widened.

"Shoot! We really lost track of time!" he exclaimed, "Kira, you'd better head down to the shuttle bay, it leaves in fifteen minutes." Kira nodded and the two left the dock but not before Kira looked back one last time at the Strike, which had served him so well up until now. Back in the room where the other students were, the others were questioning Flay about her choice.

"I've thought about a lot of things since my father was shot down," Flay explained, "I was shocked and I feel that we can't live in peace while there's a war going on in space and on Earth, but I never realized this while I was living in neutral territory. But now I've realized that a true peace can't come without fighting this war to the end! I wanna fight like Kira and Ryo did! To protect the innocent and finish this war so that we can all live in peace!" At this, she broke down in tears and said, "I just wanna carry on my dad's will…" After Natarle and Hoffman had led her away, the others were left in the room by themselves to think as they looked at their discharge papers. Finally, Sai made up his mind and in a single motion, tore his own discharge paper in half.

"Sai, what are you doing?" Miriallia exclaimed as the others stared.

"We can't just leave Flay and Ryo behind, they're our friends," Sai explained, "Besides, I kind of agree with what Flay said."

"Yeah," Tolle smiled, "I guess you're right." With that, he tore his own paper as well.

"Well, if Tolle's staying, then I guess I'm stuck here too," Miriallia said and tore hers in half. That just left Kuzzey and when everyone looked at him, he smiled and tore his before everyone laughed.

"So, I guess this just leaves Kira and I," Tiffa noted and that was when Tolle remembered that he was holding Kira's discharge paper as well.

"Come on, let's go down to the shuttle bay," he said, "We can say our goodbyes there and give Kira his discharge paper too." The others nodded and departed for the shuttle bay. While this was going on, Ryo had gone with Kira to the bay to see him off. While they were waiting, a certain little girl turned around and saw them and smiled before leaving her mother to go over to them.

"Wait! Come back, Elle!" her mother cried and this got the attention of Ryo and Kira as the said child came over and bumped into Kira to stop. She giggled a bit before digging into the pouch slung over her shoulder and producing two origami flowers, a pink one and a blue one.

"Thank you for protecting us until now, you two," she smiled cheerfully and held them out to them.

"…Are those…for us?" Kira asked.

"Uh huh," Elle nodded and the two smiled and looked at each other before accepting the flowers.

"Thanks, kid," Ryo smiled, looking up from the blue flower he had taken, "You run along back to your mother now." Elle laughed and went back to her mother before turning and waving to the two. Kira smiled and Ryo nodded in acknowledgement but just then, a strange feeling developed in Ryo's mind. Something deep inside of him was telling him that he was forgetting something important.

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"Prepare to launch Mobile Suits! Buster and Blitz, proceed to Catapult Deck immediately!"

"Aegis, proceed to Catapult Launch!" At the moment, Athrun was busy doing some final configurations while the last Ginn launched and now it was his turn. "The coast is clear, Aegis, you may launch!" He remembered Lacus telling him that Kira really didn't want to fight him and he grimaced.

"Neither do I…" he thought, "But…"

"Athrun, what's wrong with you? Launch immediately!" Athrun snapped back to his senses and launched, followed by Nicol and Dearka from the Gamow. On the said ship, an angry Yzak was fighting with the doctor who was protesting against letting him go to fight. Even though he was wearing a bandage over the wound he had recently received, his rage fueled his ambition and soon, he was sitting in the cockpit of the Duel Gundam, now upgraded with a new Assault Shroud for increased firepower and mobility in space.

"I'll get you, Strike!" he snarled as he launched, "I'll make you pay for what you did to me!" Meanwhile, on the Archangel, the other students had finally made their way to the shuttle bay and found Kira and Ryo in line. Sai called out to the former and both of them turned to see them coming.

"This is for you," Tolle said as he handed Kira a rolled up piece of paper, "It's your discharge paper!"

"You and Tiffa are going by yourselves," Sai explained, "We've all decided to stay behind as soldiers aboard the Archangel."

"W-what?" Kira stammered, "What're you-"

"Flay decided to join," Kuzzey said, "So we thought we'd volunteer too." Meanwhile, Ryo had discreetly pulled Tiffa aside and was now fishing into the pouch on his belt.

"Here," he said, taking something out and putting it into her hand, "I want you to have this." When she looked at what it was, she was startled when she recognized it as the music box that Ryo had brought back from Junius 7.

"But Ryo," she blinked, "This…this is your most prized possession. Are you sure you want me to…"

"Just think of it as me giving it to you for safekeeping," he smiled, "I just need you to hold onto it until the war's over."

"Okay," she nodded, "I'll take good care of it."

"Thanks," Ryo said, "You'll think of the others and I when you listen to it, right?" Tiffa nodded putting pulling her friend into a tight embrace.

"You were the first friend I ever had," she said, "Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

"Of course," he smiled and gently pushed her off, "I'll remember to strap in tightly every time I launch, okay?" She smiled at the joke and he laughed a bit before gently nudging her towards the ship, "Go on, now." At that moment, the battle alert sounded and Murrue's voice told everyone to report to Level 1 battle stations.

"Consider it destiny," Tolle said to Kira before pushing him towards the shuttle, "Just do us a favor by making sure you get to Earth safely."

"Goodbye! Good luck you two! And behave yourselves!" Sai joked as they left and waved goodbye.

"And whatever happens, please don't be tempted to join ZAFT!" Kuzzey added as they finally left through the door.

"Hey, you, if you're gonna get on, make it quick!" the officer at the shuttle door shouted but Kira wasn't listening. He thought about Murrue thanking him and what Mu had said about putting his abilities to good use before looking at his discharge paper and then the origami flower that Elle had given him as if to weigh the two. Finally, he made up his mind and crumpled his paper into a ball and tossed it away.

"Kira, are you alright?" Tiffa asked, "We should get going."

"Sorry, Tiffa, but I've made up my mind," he replied, "Please go on without me." With that, he pushed off away from the shuttle while the officer yelled at him to go back but he paid no attention; instead staring at the origami flower in his hand. As Tiffa went into the shuttle, she smiled and shook her head a bit.

"Boys will be boys," she thought and giggled a bit, clutching the music box in her hands tightly.

-Phase 12: End


	14. Stars Falling in Space

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 13- Stars Falling in Space

"There's a transmission coming in from the Menelaos!" Pal announced, "I'll put it on the main screen."

"Lieutenant Commander Ramius, once we enter battle, you are to take up the rear of the fleet next to the Menelaos," Halberton said, "This way, you'll be in a better position to descend into the atmosphere."

"Yes sir!" Meanwhile, the three ZAFT ships and the Mobile Suit team were rapidly approaching and the 8th Fleet was busy launching its Mobius units.

"Our target is still the Legged Ship!" Rau said, "Don't spend too much time on the ones that don't matter!"

"Enemy Mobile Suit team approaching at a distance of 50,000!"

"All ships assumed Phalanx Formation and prepare to open fire!" Halberton ordered, "Once we've dispersed their forces, we can take them out one by one! Fire!" At once, every single ship in the fleet began shooting at the approaching Mobile Suits and their respective ships. The Ginns and the four stolen Gundams immediately scattered as the Aegis transformed into Mobile Armor mode and firing the Aegis' Scylla cannon at a group of Mobius units, destroying all of them. Nearby, Dearka connected the Buster Gundam's 350mm gun-launcher and 94mm high-energy rifle together with the rifle in front and fired a larger burst of green energy through another ship. Numerous Mobius units engaged the enemy Ginns but most of them were destroyed before they could inflict any serious damage. Back on the Archangel, the crew was watching the battle when suddenly, the door to the bridge opened and the students entered the bridge.

"Sorry we're late!" Miriallia smiled as the four of them took there normal posts, "We were just seeing Kira and Tiffa off."

"What're you doing here?" Murrue asked them, "I thought you…"

"They volunteered," Natarle explained, "It was an emergency situation, so I gave me consent." Murrue nodded her understanding but frowned at the same time. In the locker room, Kira had gone in to get change only to find Flay standing in front of an opened locker.

"Flay?" he asked, "What're you doing in here?"

"Kira!" she cried out when she saw him and went over before pulling him into a hug, except she hit him so hard the artificial gravity wasn't enough to hold them down and the two drifted into a wall.

"Flay?" Kira blinked, "What…"

"I thought you went away," Flay said, "And I hadn't done anything even though I was the second one to say that I was gonna stay here. So I…I…" That was when Kira looked at the open locker and saw that his pilot suit was inside and it all clicked.

"Flay, don't be ridiculous," he smiled and pushed her off, "A girl like you in a Mobile Suit? That's crazy!"

"But…I thought…" Kira just smiled and went over to the locker.

"I've made up my mind, I'm not gonna run away anymore," he said, "I'll get back in the Strike and fight for both our behalves. It can't be helped, we've gotta end this war." Saying that, he reached in and pulled out the boots before turning around and saying with a slight blush, "So, um, I took what you said to heart, and, uh…" Flay smiled coyly and drew nearer to him.

"Well then," she said, "I'll let you know that…I intend to protect you as well."

"Fla-" Kira was about to ask what she meant but then was smothered when Flay pressed her lips against his forcefully, invading his mouth with her tongue. At first, he was startled but then gradually accepted the kiss and returned it. Back on the battlefield, things weren't going so well for the 8th Fleet. Most of their ships had been shot down and nearly all of the Mobius units had been destroyed by either the Ginns or one of the four stolen Gundams.

"Hurry up and shoot those four down!" Hoffman ordered, "They're the biggest threat at the moment!"

"It seems that Admiral Halberton has placed the Legged Ship in the rear of the fleet," Rau smirked, "He must have realized that not even the 8th Fleet will be enough to protect it. Well then, it's time I prove his beliefs to be true." Outside in space, Yzak and Dearka continued to destroy several ships while Nicol and Athrun contented themselves by simply crippling them. "Those two are too soft," he thought as Nicol fired his Gleipnir grappling claw through the bridge of a Nelson-class, "Oh well, we'll simply finish the job for them." With that, he ordered the Vesailius, Gamow, and Ziegler to open fire on the retreating ships and within moments, all of them had been destroyed.

"Outta my way, lame-brains!" Yzak snarled as he used the Duel's Igelstellung guns to shoot down several Mobius units and then the Assault Shroud's Shiva rail-gun and missiles to destroy another Marseille III-class, "Where is it? Where's that Strike? This wound's never gonna stop throbbing until I crush it!" In the Archangel's Mobile Suit bay, Mu and Ryo were getting frustrated from being cooped up in the ship and it showed; Ryo kept on pushing off of the side of X Gundam's head onto its shoulder armor and then back, his variation of pacing while in almost zero-gravity.

"This isn't right," he thought, going back and forth, "We should be out there fighting…and why do I keep getting this feeling that I'm forgetting something?"

"Jeez, kid, you're making me dizzy just by watching you," Murdoch groaned from in front of the Mobius Zero, "You mind stopping for just a few seconds?"

"Sorry, Murdoch," Ryo sighed, stopping against the X Gundam's head, "Just trying to let out some pent-up energy, that's all."

"Lieutenant Commander Ramius!" Mu called over the intercom, "Why are we still sitting around here?"

"We haven't received orders to attack from the Menelaos," Murrue replied, "Besides, we're currently preparing for reentry."

"Lieutenant Commander, with all due respect," Ryo frowned as he went into his cockpit, "The 8th Fleet is getting slaughtered out there! They need our help!"

"It's out of the question!" she said, "I won't put your lives on the line too!"

"I can't believe this…" Kuzzey suddenly gaped, looking at his screen.

"What is it?"

"The battle just started about ten minutes ago," he explained nervously, "Yet there's no response from nearly half the fleet. It was then that Murrue realized that they had to get going fast and so contacted the Menelaos.

"We're connected real time with the Archangel!" Hoffman announced, "I'll put it on screen!"

"Admiral! We wish to leave the fleet and begin our descent!" Murrue said, "It's best if the Archangel began its descent sequence now! Please authorize it!"

"What are you saying?" Halberton asked, "Are you trying to run from the battlefield so you can save yourselves?"

"The Archangel is the only thing that the ZAFT is after!" Murrue answered, "If this keeps up, there won't be much of the fleet left! We may not be able to get down to Alaska, but we have to get to Earth! Admiral!" At first, Halberton hesitated but then as he watched the Ptolemiaos go up in flames, he realized that she was right and nodded.

"You're still as reckless as ever, Murrue," he chuckled, "Alright then, proceed with descent sequence! We won't let a single ship get by on the honor of the 8th Mobility Fleet!" Murrue nodded and gave the orders to begin descent.

"Descending?" Mu asked, "In the situation we're in?"

"It's not gonna do anything to yell at me," Murdoch grumbled, "But I guess it's better than sitting here and doing nothing."

"Still," Ryo said, "It's a bit risky to descend at a time like this…"

"Even if we shake of the Nazca-class, the Laurasias, and the Ginns," another voice added, "Those four Mobile Suits will still be a problem." The three of them looked over to see Kira coming over dressed in his pilot suit.

"Kid?" Murdoch asked, "What're you…"

"I'll stand by on the Strike," he smiled, "We're still on Level 1 battle stations, right?"

"I thought he left the ship," Murdoch said, "What's he doing back here?"

"Dunno," Mu blinked, climbing further out of the Zero to get a better look, "I guess he made the same choice as Ryo did. It's gonna be hard on them, though, at such an age."

"So you changed your mind, huh?" Ryo asked, leaving the X Gundam and meeting Kira halfway as he headed to the Strike, "What's this, the second time you've done that?"

"Well, I guess that it's just fate," Kira shrugged, "Besides, I still have a few things to take care of."

"You're not talking about Flay, are you?" Ryo frowned, "Listen, Kira, don't go fighting your battles just for her; it's not gonna do you any good. Besides, chivalry's dead, who the hell fights for love these days?"

"I'm not fighting for love!" Kira replied hotly, blushing a bit, "I'm doing this for our friends! Isn't that why you stayed?"

"I was the first to volunteer my services," Ryo said, "I didn't stay for them; they stayed for Flay and I."

"Then what did you stay for?" Kira asked, "What're you trying to accomplish?"

"I'm fighting to redeem myself," he answered, "To reconcile with the people who I've hurt. I'm doing this to make peace with them and myself." When Kira gave him a confused look, he smiled and said, "Don't worry about it; you focus on your goals, I'll focus on mine. Deal?"

"Right," Kira smiled and nodded, "But let's end this war together!"

"I can live that!" Ryo laughed, "Well then, we'd better get back to our posts. After all, we _are_ still on Level 1 battle stations, aren't we?" Kira nodded and the two headed back to their respective machines without another word. Out in space, the Archangel began to slowly pull away from alongside the Menelaos and drop towards the planet.

"Descent sequence Phase 1!" Neumann said, "Cut engines to forty percent…resume at cruising speed…"

"Athrun, look!" Nicol called out to his friend from the Blitz, "The Legged Ship is…"

"Descending?" the Aegis pilot concluded in curiosity, watching their target leave after having destroyed another Mobius, "And the Strike and that other Mobile Suit haven't launched yet…and neither has their Mobile Armor."

"The Legged Ship has begun descending?" Rau thought, "Halberton, that bastard! Is he using the 8th Fleet as a shield so that the Legged Ship can land on Earth?" "All units, set your sights on the Legged Ship!" he ordered, "Don't let it pass through the atmosphere!" Back in the Archangel's Mobile Suit dock, the pilots were preparing for combat. Mu was making a final system's check while Kira and Ryo both placed the flowers that Elle had given to them in a notch in the dashboard as a reminder of what they were fighting for.

"Lieutenant Commander!" Kira called out once everything was ready, "We should go now! The ZAFT fleet has probably breached most of the defenses by now!"

"I know!" Mu nodded and then contacted the bridge, appearing on its main view screen "Captain! Launch the three of us at the last second and we'll hold them off for as long as we can! At this rate, the Archangel won't make it!"

"What are you talking about?" Murrue asked, "'Three of us'? Who's-"

"You're not gonna believe this guy, Captain," Ryo said as he appeared on a screen on the Captain's seat.

"According to their catalog specs," Kira explained as he appeared on the other screen, "Both the Strike and X Gundams are both capable of surviving atmospheric entry by themselves."

"Kira?" Murrue gaped, "What are you doing here? I thought you left the ship with the Heliopolis civilians!"

"Kira's still here?" Sai asked, as the other crew members expressed disbelief, "But why?"

"Never mind that, Captain," Ryo interrupted, snapping her back into focus, "We need to get out there and save whatever's left of the 8th Fleet now! If this continues, the Menelaos won't stand a chance against the ZAFT ships and Mobile Suits once the rest of the fleet has been destroyed!"

"Alright then, but return to the ship before we enter Phase 3 of the descent sequence!" Natarle nodded, talking to them from the CIC, "Don't even think about entering the atmosphere by yourselves! Even though the technical specs say that they can make a solo landing, no one has ever tested that feature before; we don't know what it will do to the interior! Keep a close eye on the time and altitude meters at all times!"

"Yes ma'am!" the two chorused and Ryo snapped a quick salute before their images disappeared.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel!" Murrue shouted, getting out of her seat and facing the younger woman, "What are you…"

"If this ship gets shot down," Natarle explained, "Then the sacrifices made by the 8th Fleet will have been in vain!" As Murrue tried to find a good argument, the radar began to act up and Pal noticed it.

"The Duel and Buster have both bypassed the fleet!" he announced, "One of the Laurasia classes is also approaching the Menelaos!"

"Captain, there's no time!" Ryo said and Murrue finally realized that there was no other way. The entire 8th Fleet was fighting and dying to protect the Archangel; getting shot down would be poor repayment for their assistance.

"Very well then," she sighed, sitting back down, "Prepare the Mobius Zero, and the Strike and X for immediate launch!"

"Mobius Zero, La Flaga unit, proceed to catapult launch!" Miriallia said as the Zero was loaded onto the catapult, "Be careful, Lieutenant Commander."

"Mu La Flaga on Mobius Zero! Launch!" As the Mobile Armor went out, the Strike and X Gundams were being loaded onto the catapults as well.

"Kira, you'll be going out in Aile Striker mode," Miriallia said, "The enemies you're up against are the Nazca-class, two Laurasias, nine Ginns, the Duel, Buster, Blitz, and the Aegis. Good luck, you two."

"Kira Yamato, lifting off!"

"Ryo Mouri, launching!" Both Mobile Suits launched and were propelled into space before they pulled away from the ship, activating their Phase Shift armor as they went. Ryo took the opportunity to take a look at the Earth through the monitors and admired the view for a brief moment before focusing on the task at hand.

"Sir, the Mobius Zero, X105 Strike, and the unknown unit have all launched from the Archangel!" Hoffman announced.

"What are they thinking?" Halberton asked, startled by the news.

"Kira, go handle the stolen G-units with Mu," Ryo said as Mu headed for the Buster, "I'll go after the ZAFT's ships." With that, he changed direction and flew off towards the Ziegler. Meanwhile, Yzak had spotted the Strike from his monitors and a smirk crossed his face.

"So, you finally decided to show your face, huh, Strike?" he asked and immediately rained fire upon the Strike with his rail-gun and missiles, "This is for the nasty wound!" He put his rifle away and drew a beam saber before charging the Strike, who had just dodged his first attack. Seeing the Duel coming at him, Kira put away his own beam rifle and drew a saber from the Aile Striker pack before intercepting a blow with it. Meanwhile, Dearka began to notice that he was getting dangerously close to the planet's atmospheric threshold and that it was beginning to get harder to move around.

"I'm getting heavier and heavier," he thought as he gunned the Buster's thrusters, "But I'm just a hair's breadth away from the Legged Ship!" Just then, Mu appeared seemingly out of no where and opened fire on the Buster, momentarily stopping it in its tracks.

"Tenacious, aren't we?" Mu asked as he maneuvered around, well out of the Buster's line of fire.

"Crap!" Dearka swore, struggling to regain control, "I'm slowing down too much!"

"Entering Phase 3!" Neumann announced, "Releasing ablative Gel. We are now passing through the Earth's atmosphere!" On the underside of the ship, several compartments opened and a thick, gelatinous substance spread throughout the surface until it covered the bottom completely.

"Send the signal for the Zero, Strike, and X to return immediately!" Murrue ordered, "They'll be left behind if they don't come back now!"

"Zero, Strike, X, return to the Archangel!" Miriallia called out, "We're passing through the atmosphere! Get back now!" Mu heard this and immediately headed back to the ship before firing a towing line to secure himself.

"Zero has attached itself to the ship!"

"How about it Buster?" Mu laughed, "Now you can't go back!"

"Dammit, move it, Buster, move!" Dearka swore as he tried to escape the gravitational pull.

"There's a heat source approaching the Ziegler!" an officer on the Vesailius announced, "It's a Mobile Suit, sir!"

"At a time like this?" Rau thought as the said ship desperately tried to ward off its attacker, "What are they trying to accomplish…?"

"Sir, the enemy Mobile Suit has maneuvered behind the Ziegler! At this point, it'll have a direct shot at its engines!"

"Shoot it down!" Rau ordered as he felt an odd tingling in his head, one that he would usually receive while he was in combat with Mu, "Don't give it time to fire!" As the Vesailius' main cannons began to charge, Ryo suddenly felt a strange tingling in his head as well, unknowingly similar to the one that Rau had just had, that was telling him to move and he chose to follow his instincts, flying aside just as a shot from the Vesailius' cannons missed the X Gundam by a hair.

"That was too close, but what was that feeling in my head? Oh well, now then, where was I?" Ryo thought, deploying the Satellite Cannon, "Oh, that's right. I sure am glad I finished those Scylla cannon modifications before this…" The targeting visor flipped in front of his face and as soon as he had achieved a solid lock, he clicked the trigger and fired a large burst of energy from the weapon, similar to the Aegis' own Scylla cannon. The beam struck the Ziegler's engines and penetrated them straight into the ship's core, destroying it.

"The Ziegler has been shot down!" the same officer announced, "And the Gamow is getting dangerously close to the Earth's atmospheric threshold!"

"Captain Zelman, what are you doing?" Rau asked, "Withdraw at once!"

"Sorry, Commander," Zelman apologized, "But after coming this far, there's no turning back now." With that, he ordered the crew to open fire on the Menelaos and soon, the two ships were locked in a fierce firefight while practically next to each other.

"Are they…" Hoffman stuttered, "Are they sacrificing themselves to destroy us?"

"Send out the shuttle with the civilians!" Halberton ordered, "I refuse to lose that shuttle after all that the passengers have been through…" Moments later, the shuttle containing the civilians from Heliopolis departed from the Menelaos just as the Agamemnon-class carrier unleashed a desperate broad-side upon the Gamow, causing the ship to catch fire and then finally explode in the atmosphere.

"Captain Zelman!" Nicol called out as he watched the ship explode but then picked up something on his radar.

"Something just launched from the Menelaos!" Athrun reported, "It looks like….a refugee shuttle?"

"A refugee shuttle…" Rau thought, "Odd, considering the timing…"

"Sir, shall I intercept it?" Nicol asked.

"No, it's too dangerous," Rau answered, "Besides, at this point, I doubt if it's a trick. Let it be." Meanwhile, Ryo was pushing the X Gundam's thrusters to their limits as he rocketed back towards the Archangel from where the Ziegler had used to be, having done what he had planned to do.

"Dammit, hurry up! If I don't get back to the ship…" he thought, "Come on, come on…yes! I finally made it!" For he had just arrived back at the atmosphere and was headed back to the Archangel when something suddenly registered in his mind. "Wait a minute…something's missing…" Ryo thought and then smacked the side of his helmet with his hand, "Shit! Kira!" With that, he turned and flew off, anxiously scanning the area for the Strike. By now, the damage inflicted upon the Menelaos had finally taken its toll and it split apart before exploding in a brilliant fireball. On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue and Natarle stood and saluted as they watched the ship explode to pay their respects to the late admiral.

"Admiral Halberton," Murrue thought sadly as a single tear ran down her face. Mu, who was still in the Mobius Zero, saw the X Gundam suddenly move away and this startled him.

"Where are you going, kid?" he wondered, "Whatever you're doing, you'd better hurry up!" As this was going on, the Strike and Duel were still locked in fierce combat and so far, neither of them was winning.

"I'm not letting you escape this time!" Yzak practically roared, taking another swing with the Duel's saber.

"You won't defeat me!" Kira retorted and blocked it with his own.

"Kira, Kira!" Ryo called out to him as he approached, "Are you freakin' blind? We were supposed to get back to the ship five minutes ago! Get out of there and head back before the gravity gets too strong!" Kira suddenly realized just how far into the atmosphere they had gone and nodded before knocking the Duel away with its shield and then kicking its head, knocking it further back as it pulled away.

"Call back Athrun and Nicol at once!" Rau ordered on the Vesailius, "As for Yzak and Dearka…there's nothing that we can do for them now." As the Aegis and Blitz headed to the Vesailius, Yzak was supremely pissed at his failure to destroy the Strike and drew the Duel's beam rifle.

"You're not getting away that easily!" he snarled but just when he was about to fire, a shuttle passed in front of the Strike and threw off his aim. "What's this?" he asked as he pulled the trigger but due to the interference from the shuttle, all of his shots went wide.

"That's…" Kira said as he turned back, "Oh no! The shuttle from the Menelaos!" Hearing this, Ryo turned as well to look and then all at once, a memory came screaming back into his head.

"Dammit, that's what I was forgetting!" he thought frantically and aimed his beam rifle at the Duel. The pilot of the said unit was now infuriated at the disturbance and glared angrily at it.

"How dare you get in my way!" Yzak growled and pointed his rifle at the retreating shuttle instead. Kira saw this and immediately flew towards the shuttle.

"Don't do it!" he shouted, "That shuttle has-"

"Soldiers who wanna be cowards and run away, huh?" Yzak finished coldly and fired just as Ryo shot at the Duel. The next few seconds went by in almost slow motion. The beam from the Duel's rifle headed for the shuttle as the Strike went to intercept it while the beam from the X's hit the Duel's rifle and destroyed it. Just as the Strike reached out a hand, the Duel's beam penetrated the shuttle's roof and the sheer heat of it immediately killed everyone who was unfortunate enough to be sitting near the spot where it hit. A few rows ahead, Tiffa turned and as she did, the music box Ryo had given her suddenly opened and as Elle's mother held her daughter close as if to shield her from harm, a bright light flashed from inside the box just as the beam passed through the rest of the shuttle and caused it to go up in flames. Hundreds of innocent people died in an instant.

"Nooo!" Kira cried as the resulting shockwave impacted the Strike and sent it hurtling out of control in another direction.

"Elle! Tiffa!" Ryo called out in vain and then fury surfaced in his heart as he aimed his rifle at the Duel again, "You! You'll pay for that!" Just as he was about to fire, however, his radar began to react to something and curiosity overcame anger as he looked at his monitor to see what it was. He zoomed in on the object but was confused when he saw that it was a shining orb that was in the middle of the wreckage of the shuttle. "What's this…" he wondered before the autopilot suddenly turned on by itself and the X Gundam flew towards the orb. "Hey, what the-" he stammered, "What the hell's going on? Stop! Cut it out, Gundam!" Just then, he looked back at the monitor and saw that the orb was actually fairly translucent and that there was a silhouette inside it. Looking closer, he saw that the shape was familiar and then he received another odd tingle in his head similar to the one that he had felt before when it had warned him of the Vesailius' cannons being pointed at him. "That feeling again!" Ryo thought and frowned, "Just what the heck does it…" At that moment, he recognized the silhouette inside the glowing orb and his eyes widened in surprise. "T-Tiffa…?"

-Phase 13: End


	15. Within Endless Time

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

Author's note: Since this episode was just a recap of the previous ones in the series, I've decided to change the structure of it to better suit the story. Also, I am aware the Archangel does not descend until Phase 15 but due to the new structure, it has been moved to this chapter. Also, I have now decided to add a time line to the beginning of chapters.

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Phase 14- Within Endless Time

_February 14_, _C.E. 71, Earth's Atmosphere_

"Dammit, shut up!" Ryo shouted, pounding on the X Gundam's dashboard, "I know the temperature's getting too high! It's not like I've lost the ability to tell the difference between hot and cold or something." The warning siren that was blaring inside the cockpit was driving him insane; as if he didn't have other things to worry about. By now, the X Gundam had almost reached the mysterious orb that contained his friend inside and had now reached out as if to grab it. "Stupid auto pilot," he muttered under his breath, "I can't even speed up! I guess I'll have to work on it once we get to Earth…if this piece of trash will just hurry up already!" And after what seemed like forever, the orb had reached the X's grasp and within moments, was securely in its grip, reverting the controls back to manual. "Okay, now that that part's done," Ryo sighed, "I'd better go and get Kira and head back to the ship…dunno how long that thing's gonna hold up." Meanwhile, Kira was facing his own problems. Because of the shockwave of the exploding shuttle, he had been knocked into a lopsided position and now he too was beginning to notice just how uncomfortably hot the cockpit was getting. He could hear the people on the ship calling out to him, telling him to go back but no matter how hard he pushed the thrusters, he couldn't seem to get anywhere.

"It's no use," he thought, "The gravity's too strong…" As he thought that, he turned the Strike around so that its shield was facing towards the planet, hoping that it would save him from being fried to a crisp by the planet's atmosphere.

"Kira!"

"Kira, come back!"

"No, Kira!"

"Great," he thought sarcastically, "Now I'm either gonna burn up in the atmosphere or land on some remote island."

"The entry vectors of the Strike and X are misaligned with that of the Archangel!" Neumann exclaimed, "At this rate, they'll miss the drop point!"

"Captain, I've received word from the X that the civilian shuttle from the Menelaos has been shot down by the Duel."

"Kira, Ryo!" Miriallia called out from the Archangel, "Can't you make it back to the ship?"

"It's impossible," Natarle replied grimly, "At this point, their thrusters are no where near powerful enough to get them back to the Archangel."

"Go over to them!" Murrue ordered, "The Archangel's thrusters should still be strong enough to reach them in time!"

"But then we'll miss the drop point in Alaska too!"

"If we lose those two Mobile Suits, none of that matters!" Murrue answered, "We have to get to them now! Hurry!" Not too far away, Ryo was also beginning to experience tremendous difficulty getting anywhere but to his relief, he had managed to make it at least next to the Strike. Looking at where they were headed through the monitors and judging by the calculated course made by the combat computer, the two of them would plummet directly into the Indian Ocean if they couldn't get back to the ship.

"Kira!" Ryo called out, "Grab on! Our combined thrust should be enough to get us back to the ship!" Saying that, he had the X Gundam grab onto the Strike's free arm with its own free hand and immediately ignited the thrusters. Kira did the same but even with the help of the Aile Striker pack, they could still only move a few inches at best. Just then, Ryo noticed that the Archangel was moving towards them and he heaved a sigh of relief. "Hang on, Kira, we're almost there!" he said to the brunette pilot, who was now feeling quite dizzy from the strain of reentry. "Come on, faster!" he thought, blinking some sweat out of his eyes, "Almost there….got it!" The two finally made it on top of one of the Archangel's Gottfried compartments and locked themselves down onto it, securing themselves to the ship. Once they were secure, the X Gundam automatically let go of the Strike and held onto the orb it was carrying with both hands.

"Strike and X attaching to the ship…confirmed!" Neumann announced and the rest of the bridge crew breathed again. Ryo himself sighed in relief again and tried to contact Kira, only to find that the pilot wasn't responding.

"All the stress must've gotten to him," he thought, "Then again…maybe a nap wouldn't be such a bad idea right about now…"

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"Kid?" I heard someone say to me, "Kid!" Blearily, I opened my eyes and saw Mu standing above the open cockpit.

"Oh, Lieutenant Commander," I replied, trying to stifle a yawn, "Did we land yet?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "We've been on the ground for about five minutes."

"Just five?" I groaned, undoing my harness and climbing out, "I couldn't have slept for long, then. How's Kira doing?"

"Well, despite the fact that he was unconscious when we opened his cockpit," Mu smiled, "I think he'll live. Some crew members brought him to the infirmary a while ago. But you've been out for a good two hours."

"Two hours?" I blinked, "It took us that long to land?"

"We came in through the atmosphere," Mu replied, "You can't expect it to take a minute, can you?"

"I supposed not," I shrugged, "By the way, was the X holding onto something when you brought it inside?"

"Yeah, but we can't tell what it is," Mu replied, "Its hands are clasped too tightly over it, we can't get them apart."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," I sighed and went back into the cockpit and reset all of the controls back to their original positions before climbing back out and jumping down the arm. I landed harder than I thought I would have and then remembered that now that we were on Earth, the stronger gravity would have a larger impact on everything that I did. Looking at the Gundam's hands, I saw that Mu was right. Both hands were securely clasped over the shining orb that it had caught by itself and I could see Tiffa floating within it as if suspended by some unknown force. "How the hell am I gonna get her out?" I thought, "Maybe there's a weak point somewhere…no, then it would have burst in the atmosphere…but then how do I get rid of this…?" As I thought this, I put my hand on the sphere to feel it but when I did, it dissolved and I winced a bit as gravity caused Tiffa to fall onto the Gundam's palm with a dull thud. After quite a bit of pushing and shoving on my half (with some help from the crew) I finally managed to get the hands apart when they moved by themselves and was about to ask the crew to take her to the infirmary when she stirred and slowly sat up. "Tiffa!" I exclaimed and knelt down beside her, "Are you…you're not hurt, are you?" At first, she looked around as if confused but then seemed to realize where she was.

"Ryo…"

"It's alright, you're safe now," I smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder, "That was quite a scare you gave me back there, though."

"But…" she blinked, "How did I…the shuttle…what happened back there?"

"I'm not sure," I sighed, "I'll have to look into that later. You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Tiffa nodded and then looked down. I followed her gaze and saw that she was still holding onto the music box that I had given to her. "Wait…I remember something now," she frowned, "When the shuttle was about to explode, I saw a bright flash coming from my hands. I don't know what it was but…whatever created it must have protected me as well." Getting back up, a thoughtful look crossed her face and then she handed the box to me. "Here," she said, "I don't know if I'll be getting off any time soon…so I think it would be best if you kept it for now." I nodded and took the box from her hands but as I did, I almost dropped it when I felt something surge through it and into my fingers like a spark of electricity.

"Weird," I thought as I helped her get down using the zip-cable, "That never happened before." Turning back to Tiffa, I asked, "Are you sure you're feeling alright? I could take you to the infirmary for a bit if you need to."

"No, I'll be okay," Tiffa smiled, "But I'm sure that the others are worried. Why don't we go and see them?" I nodded and put the box back into the pouch on my belt, figuring that I would take a look at it later.

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"It sure is good to be back on Earth again," Tolle sighed, "It's just too bad that the 8th Fleet didn't make it. That Halberton guy was a pretty okay person."

"I heard that Kira had to be brought to the infirmary after we landed," Sai said, "Something about the stress of re-entry getting to him."

"Yeah," Kuzzey nodded, "And the refugee shuttle that got shot down…"

"W-what?" Miriallia exclaimed, "The one from the Menelaos?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear Chandra?" Kuzzey asked, "He said that the Duel destroyed the shuttle while it was entering the atmosphere."

"Oh no," Milly moaned, putting her face in her hands, "Tiffa…" Almost as if in response to her words, the said girl and Ryo both entered the cafeteria as Tolle moved to comfort his girlfriend.

"Um," Ryo blinked as he looked around, "Did we miss something here?"

"Tiffa!" Miriallia exclaimed, getting up, "You're alive!"

"Yes, I'm fine, Milly," Tiffa smiled as the older girl embraced her, "You don't have to worry about me." By now, the others had all gathered around her and were asking what exactly had happened. "I'm not exactly sure myself," she said, "All I remember is being in the shuttle when I saw a bright flash and then I blacked out before I woke up in the dock on the hand of Ryo's Mobile Suit."

"That's crazy," Tolle blinked, "But cool at the same time."

"So you really have no idea of what happened?" Sai asked.

"I'm afraid not," Tiffa replied, shaking her head, "But I'm…a bit sad that I was the only one that made it. There were so many other people on that shuttle…"

"I should have done something about it," another voice said behind her said and they looked to see Ryo looking sulky, "I even saw this coming…how could I have forgotten until the last moment…?"

"Ryo, what is it now?" Tolle asked, "You'd better not be starting on that 'everything-is-my-fault' thing again."

"No, it's just that…" Ryo sighed, "Sometimes…I'll have a dream about something and then that event will play out just like my dream. I guess you can call it having visions…"

"And you're saying you saw this happen before it actually did?" Miriallia questioned, now curious."

"Yes, a little while ago, actually," Ryo nodded, "It was a little bit after we left the Debris Belt that I had the actual dream, but…I never thought about it much until…" There was a brief silence until Tolle once again decided to break the silence.

"That's weird," he said, "I didn't know Coordinators were psychic too."

"They're not, Tolle," Sai replied, "Haven't you ever heard of ESP?"

"Can't say I have. What is it?"

"It's short for 'extra sensory perception'," he explained, "People who have this have extremely heightened perception. It's said that they can tell when things are going to happen before they ever do or even sense the thoughts and feelings of other people."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Tolle said, "Hey, Ryo, can you tell what I'm thinking now?"

"Sorry, Tolle, but I don't even know if what I have is ESP," Ryo answered, "I prefer to believe that they're just coincidences."

"But still, seeing what is yet to come isn't exactly a coincidence," Tolle smiled, "It must be pretty cool to have your dreams come true."

"No it's not! Don't ever take that statement so lightly around me!" Ryo suddenly snapped, surprising the others, "The stuff that I dream about…if you knew even half of it, you wouldn't want any of it to come true either!"

"Why? What's so bad about having your dreams come true?" Miriallia asked, still somewhat uneasy from his sudden outburst.

"Because people die in my dreams, Milly," he replied, "People that I really care about, I've dreamt of them dying…"

"Like who?" Kuzzey questioned, not really aware that he was pressing.

"Tolle…he was in one of them," Ryo said, looking down at his feet, "Lieutenant Commander Flaga and Lieutenant Badgiruel in another. And then Flay…she died in one too…"

"B-but those were just dreams, right?" Miriallia asked nervously, glancing at Ryo and then her boyfriend, "That doesn't mean it'll come true, does it?"

"I can only hope it doesn't," Ryo sighed, "Anyway, I'm gonna go back to my room. I'll see you guys later or something." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving the others standing there in silence again.

"I guess I understand now," Sai suddenly said, "This must be why he works himself so hard. He doesn't want to see what might come to pass in his dreams, so he does whatever he can to keep awake."

"It must be creepy," Milly sighed, "Seeing people die in your dreams and then have it happen in real life. I sure hope that it doesn't happen to the people he just mentioned."

"Relax, I'm always careful, aren't I?" Tolle laughed, "Besides, you said it yourself! It was just a dream!"

"I dunno, Tolle, I seem to remember one incident where you broke your wrist after deciding to ride a bike with no hands to impress Milly," Sai remarked, "And I also seem to recall you being kind of enthusiastic about the idea of Ryo being a psychic."

"Hey! That was not necessary at all!" Tolle stammered, turning a bit red in the face as the others laughed, "And Ryo was the one who gave me the idea of doing something crazy to get her attention anyway!"

"Don't try to pin this on Ryo, Tolle," Miriallia giggled, "It was your fault for listening to him."

"Yeah, but…" Tolle began to say but then seemed to realize something, "Wait a sec', he must've known that I would break my wrist doing that! That bastard!"

"But then again, Milly did become more attached to you after that," Tiffa smiled, "Perhaps Ryo knew that it would happen all along and that was why he advised you to do it. And it worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so," Tolle admitted, "I suppose something good did come out of it after all."

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While his friends were busy talking, Ryo was alone in his room and sitting on his bed. The music box was in his hands and he had spent the past twenty minutes carefully looking over it, trying to see just what might have caused the reaction. "That's odd, nothing's happening," he thought, frowning a bit and turning it over in his hands again, "But I swear I felt something earlier when I took it from Tiffa…" He tried doing numerous things to it without breaking it. Shaking it, knocking on it, tossing it up and catching it, he even blew on it just to see if anything would happen. Eventually, I stopped and just stared at it for a while. "Hmm…maybe it's inside the box," he said to himself and opened it. All that happened was that the music began to play and continued to as he glanced into it. After about five minutes, he sighed in frustration and shut the box before getting up and pacing around the room. "Let's see now, what haven't I tried?" he wondered, "I've looked at the surface and at its interior….what's there left to check?" As he pondered, he sat back down and his hand knocked the box over. This caused the lid to flip open and then he saw something sticking out of the box.

Curious, he picked it up and saw the thing slide down into the box when he lifted it to his face. He flipped it upside-down and watched the thing pop back out before something fell from the box and clattered onto the floor. After shutting the box, he put it on the bed before bending down and picking up the object. "What's this?" he blinked, looking it over, "Looks like a flash drive of some sort. Too bad I don't have a computer though…" He then saw a small logo on the side that resembled the power meter that appeared whenever he used the Satellite Cannon. "I wonder…" he thought, "Will this work in the Gundam? Well, only one way to find out." With that, he got up and headed over to the dock, which was full of technicians who were busy with the new Skygraspers that they had gotten from the 8th Fleet earlier. After going over to the X Gundam and getting into its cockpit, he looked around and then noticed a small flash drive portal next to the switch that activated the Satellite Cannon. "Here goes," he muttered and put the drive into the portal.

At once, the main monitor turned into a video screen as whatever was in the flash drive booted up and then a familiar looking woman appeared on the screen before calmly saying, "Hello, Ryo."

"M-mom…?" Ryo stammered in disbelief, "Is that…" The person on the screen was none other than his own mother. However, she didn't appear to hear him and that was when he realized that this was probably a recording, how old he didn't know.

"If you are watching this, then I would probably be right when I say that you're aware of what this machine is capable of by now," she continued, "Ryo, I know that there is a lot that you don't understand and that you've lost your memories. So I hope that this video will help you to remember at least a little of how things used to be and understand why some things are." Ryo unwittingly nodded, he did have a lot of questions. "I guess I should start with your father," his mother said, "Before you lost your memories, he was a member of the PLANT Supreme Council and represented Junius City. He took part in the construction of Aprilius City, the first PLANT cluster, in C.E. 43 and met both Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala. He became good friends with them and later, he was elected to the Supreme Council as I told you before. He was the one who proposed that Junius 7-10 become agricultural PLANTs and the decision was agreed upon by Siegel Clyne in C.E. 68. Thirteen years before that, you were born and so were the children of Siegel and Patrick, Lacus Clyne and Athrun Zala. You were raised together until an anti-Coordinator terrorist movement against Patrick Zala, which then led him to send Athrun to Preparatory School at Copernicus and your father sent you to off to December City to attend school. There, you met the son of Maius City's representative Yuri Amalfi, Nicol Amalfi. While you were there, however, you were involved in an automobile accident and went into a coma. While you were asleep, your father became friends with the Reverend Malchio as well as Captain Halberton of the Atlantic Federation's 4th Space Fleet and began a campaign for a peaceful relationship between the Earth and PLANT."

"So that's how Halberton knew my dad!" Ryo thought, somewhat surprised.

"Ultimately, however, the campaign was cut short due to a lack of funding and it was forgotten. Later, however, your father came up with another proposal. He had created a new design of Mobile Suit to replace the standard Ginn units that would offer more mobility and weapons. Although some of the council did not agree, enough did so that the plan was passed and so the development of the new Mobile Suit began on the colony of Junius 7. The Mobile Suit he proposed was none other than the one that you are now undoubtedly using."

"My dad was the one who had came up for the idea for the X Gundam?" Ryo gaped, "So that's what he meant…"

"However, near its completion stage, you awakened from your coma and later word made it to the Atlantic Federation about the new Mobile Suit. As a result, the Earth Alliance Forces was formed and declared war on PLANT. What happened next both you and I already know. You see, Ryo, the reason why I made this tape was because I had already for-seen the events of today, February 14th, C.E. 70 and wanted to give you what you had lost. Ryo, I hope that you are still listening because this is very important. I am a Newtype." At this, Ryo froze and blinked before rewinding the video a little to make sure he had heard it right. Every time he listened, the recording said the same thing, "I am a Newtype."

"A Newtype?" he wondered, putting the video of hold, "No way…but then again, how else would she have known? It couldn't have just been coincidence…" Thinking that she would explain more, I continued the video and listened.

"A Newtype is one who possesses extraordinary powers of spatial awareness," she explained, "One such kind of person that your father knew was a man called Al da Flaga. His son, Mu la Flaga, inherited his father's Newtype traits. Later, Al da Flaga had a two clones created of himself, one of them being Rau le Creuset and another unknown clone, both of them also possessing his Newtype abilities. At the time, Al da Flaga was obsessed with creating the perfect human being and since he had made Rau a Coordinator, he named him his heir instead of Mu."

"That doesn't really explain much," Ryo thought, "I didn't really need to know about what Mu's past was like."

"However, there is more about Newtypes than most people know," she continued, "For example, there are two other kinds of Newtypes. The second kind of Newtype possesses a very strong sense of foresight and can sense the thoughts and feelings of others. Most people refer to this trait as ESP. I believe that you know someone that has this trait, the Newtype girl you met in the streets. The one that you christened "Tiffa", wasn't it?" Even as Ryo pondered how she had known, she added, "I too belong to this classification of Newtype. Now, the third kind of Newtype is especially rare and has the best traits of both of the other two kinds. As far as I know, there is only one of this kind in existence." There was a brief pause as his mother smiled a bit and said, "Ryo…that one is you." Ryo was too stunned to even do a double take.

"M-me…?" he whispered, "…a Newtype…?" He had never even considered the possibility that it was true. He had always known that Tiffa was a Newtype and he was sure that she knew as well. But he himself? Even though he was a decent pilot, he had always thought it was because he was a Coordinator. But even as he tried to figure it out, it all started to dawn on him. He remembered his dreams and they seemed to fit his mother's description of the second breed of Newtype. "And I guess that would also explain why I had those reactions," he thought to himself, "But still…"

"This is a surprise to you, I'm sure…"

"You have no idea," Ryo sighed.

"But I'm afraid that you will have to face it as it is," his mother said, "Now then, about the music box that you found this in. I had always known that you would one day become the pilot of this Mobile Suit and so I had the music box made to go with it. You see, there is a small chip inside the box that directly interfaces with the X's autopilot. This chip is capable of reacting to the enhanced brainwaves that a Newtype can produce and will immediately form a protective shield around the Newtype holding it when the holder is faced with imminent danger. The reason for this is because when it was made, I transferred some of my own brainwaves into the chip as well as some of my Newtype power. Should it activate when you are outside of the Mobile Suit, it will instantly activate the autopilot of the nearest X unit and have it come to retrieve you. This function will last only until you are out of harm's way and inside the cockpit." As she said this, Ryo was busy trying to process all of the information he had just learned through his mind. Tiffa had told him earlier that she had seen a bright flash coming from her hands before the shuttle exploded and he knew that she was holding the music box. As he thought this, he slowly started to think that what his mother was saying was true after all.

"I know that this is a lot of information for someone your age to remember," she admitted, "But please understand that I didn't want any harm to come to you while you were piloting the Mobile Suit. This is all that you need to know for now, but when the time comes, you will find a second video similar to this one. It will tell you all that you need to understand by the time you do." With that, the screen went blank as the video came to a stop. Ryo sighed heavily and leaned back in the seat as he rubbed his temples. Sure, the video had answered some of his questions but now there were even more of them in his head. If he had indeed been in a coma for nearly eight years, then what had his other life been?

"It couldn't have just been a dream," Ryo frowned, "But if that's the case, then how did I really end up here? All I know is that I was hit by a car and…wait, what if I'm dreaming right now and I'm in a coma in my other life? No, that would be the same thing as having been in a coma in this life and having dreamt the other one. Ugh, I'm so damn confused!" Even as he sat there, he began to realize that even if he didn't understand why things were the way they were, he was going to have to deal with it until it was over. Despite this thought, he still didn't feel any better about it. In fact, all it did was make him feel even more confused about the issue.

"Hey, kid," he heard someone say above him, "How long do plan on sitting in there and moping around?" Ryo looked up to see Murdoch leaning over the X's open cockpit and decided to think about it later.

"Who said I was moping?" Ryo replied with a grin as he climbed out, "I was just checking the system to see if everything was still working, that's all."

"That's my job, you know."

"Well then, less work for you to do," Ryo shrugged and hopped down onto the platform, "You should be glad about that."

"Hey, you don't see me complaining," Murdoch laughed and then asked, "So, Ryo, you get anything for your girl?"

"W-what?...!" Ryo exclaimed, looking at the technician oddly, "What do you mean by 'your girl'? I don't…what?"

"Ah, c'mon, Ryo!" Murdoch grinned, "It's kind of obvious that you've got a thing for that girl you're always hanging around with."

"I hang out with more than one girl, you know," Ryo frowned, "Besides, Miriallia's Tolle's girlfriend and I wouldn't date Flay if the two of us were the last two human beings in existence!"

"I meant the other one," the head technician said, "The one you brought back inside that glowing thing."

"What, you mean Tiffa?" the black-haired Coordinator blinked, "We're just good friends. Where did you get the idea that I liked her that way?"

"You seem to hang out with her more often than the others," Murdoch pointed out, "And she looked pretty upset when she was about to leave on the shuttle."

"I've known her longer than I've known any of the others," Ryo replied, now getting fed up, "Anyway, just because I hang out with her when I'm not busy doesn't mean that I have feelings for her. And why did you even bring up the subject in the first place?"

"What, did you forget already?" Murdoch asked, "It's Valentine's Day!" All of a sudden, Ryo's blood ran cold even as he mentally kicked himself for forgetting such an important day.

"Oh…that's right," he said, trying to smile, "Valentine's Day…yeah, I remember…"

"You feeling alright?" Murdoch frowned, noticing his sudden change in behavior, "You don't look too great."

"It's nothing," Ryo quickly replied, "I'm just…feeling a little off, that's all. I'm still kind of tired from entering the atmosphere, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, I'll catch you later, Murdoch," Ryo said and turned but just as he was about to leave, Murdoch reached into his pocket.

"Hey, Ryo," he said and as Ryo turned around, he tossed something to him and when he caught it, he looked down and saw that it was a bar of chocolate, "You need it more than I do." Blinking, Ryo just nodded and walked away. He had just put the chocolate into his pocket when he suddenly realized just what the chief technician had meant.

"MURDOCH! YOU BASTARD!"

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"Hey, guys, I was looking at the time recently and I realized something," Sai suddenly said, "Isn't today the fourteenth of February? You know, Valentine's Day?"

"That's right!" Tolle nodded excitedly, "I guess we were all so caught up with the past that we totally forgot the date!"

"Yeah, it's pretty weird," Miriallia agreed, "I don't remember the last time I've spent Valentine's Day on Earth." While the others talked, Tiffa looked down at her hands and thought. She too was surprised that it was already Valentine's Day but for different reasons. Ever since she had escaped from Junius Seven with Ryo, she had never thought of the incident much. But now that it was already a year since that day, she suddenly felt sad for the people who weren't able to see today.

"Tiffa? Are you okay?" she heard Miriallia ask, "Hello? Earth to Tiffa!"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine," she smiled, "I was just thinking a little."

"About what?" Tolle asked and Tiffa could detect a bit of mischief in his tone, "Wondering if you should ask Ryo to be your valentine?" Somewhere else on the ship, Ryo stopped walking in mid-step, paused a bit, and then sneezed.

"U-umm…." Tiffa stammered and looked down at the table, "I don't…understand…"

"Don't give me that! I've seen the way you look at him!" Tolle laughed, "And I saw that little moment between you two in the dock before you got on the shuttle too! Face it! You like him!"

"Tolle!" Miriallia scolded, although she was trying not to smile as well, "Don't tease her like that!"

"But it's true!" Tolle argued and pointed at Tiffa, "Look, she's blushing! That proves it!" Tiffa put her hands on her face and realized that her cheeks were now very warm. Such a fact deepened her embarrassment and she felt her face grow warmer.

"No it doesn't!" Milly said, now starting to smile a bit herself, "Anyone would've been embarrassed by a statement like that!" Tiffa just sat there and blushed as she listened to them. She knew that Tolle was right; she had become attracted to the black-haired pilot but her shy nature would not allow her to express her feelings. Instead, she had contented herself with simply being with him when he wasn't busy. The thing was, she hadn't realized that her attempts to spend time with him had been that obvious to the others. Deciding that she needed some time to think this over, she got up and smoothed her dress.

"I'm going to go back to our room," she told the others, "I'll see you at dinner."

"Hold on," Tolle suddenly said and got up as well before pulling something out of his pocket and put it into Tiffa's hand, "Give this to Ryo when you see him." Seeing her confused look, he added, "Hey, what's Valentine's Day without chocolate, huh?" Tiffa blushed again but walked out of the cafeteria with the candy nonetheless. When she was gone, Miriallia eyed her boyfriend suspiciously.

"Tolle, where did you get that chocolate bar?" she asked.

"Stole it from Murdoch when he wasn't looking," he grinned and pulled out another one from his other pocket, "Relax, will ya? Look, I got one just for you."

"Tell me again why you're my boyfriend?" Miriallia sighed as she took the chocolate.

"Because you love me soooo much," Tolle laughed.

"Hey, Tolle," Sai asked, "Couldn't you have gotten one for me so I could give it to Flay?"

"Nah," Tolle replied, waving his hand dismissively, "Because I knew that Flay would say when you gave it to her; 'What, chocolate? Sai, you know this'll make me fat or give me zits or something!'" The others laughed at his impersonation but then stopped when he suddenly stood up and said, "Come on! I don't wanna miss the show."

"Show? What…" Miriallia began as he walked out of the cafeteria but then realized what he was talking about and sighed as she got up to follow him, "Ugh…Tolle, you're so horrible…" Meanwhile, Tiffa was busy roaming the hallways and trying to think at the same time. She was so deep in thought that she didn't look where she was going and accidentally walked into someone.

"Sorry," she said, drawing back a little, "I was…" She looked up and then her words faltered.

"Well, this is rather…awkward," Ryo blinked, looking just as surprised as she was, "Fancy bumping into you here." Tiffa smiled and looked away to hide the fact that she was blushing again and fortunately, there was a window next to them.

"I've never spent the night on Earth before," she said, going over to the glass, "It's very pretty."

"Yeah," Ryo nodded and Tiffa could sense him next to her, "But it's even better when you see it outside without any lights. Then the stars really stand out." She noticed that his voice sounded somewhat sad and she turned to see that he was staring at the sky through the window.

"Ryo…"

"It's hard to believe, huh?" he smiled, though Tiffa could tell that it was forced, "That it's already been a year since that day. Who would've known that a year would go by so fast?" She nodded in agreement and looked at the sky as well. She had forgotten that Ryo had been holding the guilt of the Bloody Valentine on his shoulders for a very long time. The fact that this it had been a year since it had happened was probably very hard on him. Tiffa wanted very much to hold him and say that it was alright but once again, her shy nature prevented her from doing so; and so she just stood next to him and stared at the sky.

"Um, here," he suddenly said, taking something out of his pocket, "It's not really Valentine's Day without some chocolate, right?" Tiffa looked at him and then noticed that he was holding a chocolate bar identical to the one she was holding.

"Y-yeah," she nodded, blushing, "Um…I…I have one for you too…" Hesitating a little, she held up the chocolate in her hands and looked at her feet, blushing even harder. Ryo blinked and looked at the two chocolate bars before grinning sheepishly and scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

"Um, uh…" he laughed nervously, "Trade?" Tiffa nodded and the two swapped chocolate bars. They stood there for a few minutes more before Ryo added, "Well…might as well eat these before they melt, huh?"

"Yes," Tiffa agreed, still somewhat embarrassed, "We should." Another minute passed in silence before Ryo finally opened the wrapper on his and Tiffa followed suit shortly after. She had to try very hard not to blush while she ate and once looked up at Ryo to watch him. Once they had finished, it was quiet again as Ryo absentmindedly fiddled around with his wrapper.

"Well, I've gotta say," Ryo finally admitted, "This has got to be the weirdest Valentine's Day I've ever spent!" Tiffa giggled at this and Ryo smiled as well. "Yeah, it sure is," he said, "But…I'm kind of glad there was something to brighten up the mood a little."

"Me too," Tiffa nodded, happy that she had helped him feel better. Just then, the two heard a sound coming from behind around the corner and Ryo sighed in exasperation.

"Tolle, if you don't come out here right now," he warned, "I'm gonna beat the crap out of you when I get back there."

"Nuts," the said brunette sighed as he walked into view, followed shortly by Miriallia, Sai, and Kuzzey, "It was getting good too."

"Watch it, Tolle," Ryo glared, "Remember, not only am I older than you, but I'm also your superior officer."

"I know," Tolle grumbled, looking somewhat irritated by the reminder, "You don't have to rub it in." As the others laughed, Tiffa looked at Ryo again and smiled when she saw that this time, his laugh was genuine. All of a sudden, they heard a gurgling sound and looked at Kuzzey.

"I, um…" he stammered, holding his stomach while grinning sheepishly, "Guess it's time to eat?" The others laughed again but as the others went on to the cafeteria, Ryo hesitated and took one last look out of the window.

"Time…" he said to himself before turning to leave the window, "I guess it's something all of us need more of."

Phase 14: End


	16. Their Respective Solitudes

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 15- Their Respective Solitudes

_February 14_, _C.E. 71, Libya Desert_

Hours had passed and both Flay and Miriallia were in the infirmary to keep an eye on Kira, who was currently still asleep. He was suffering from a fever and was now tossing and turning in his cot as nightmares plagued his sleep. His dreams kept switching between random scenes from the previous battle, in which he had almost missed that Archangel while descending. At one particularly vivid moment, he cried out in his sleep and flailed around, successfully knocking open the curtains beside his bed and almost rolling off in the process.

"Kira!" Flay exclaimed and both girls quickly got up and went over to his side.

"Is he okay?" Miriallia asked as she picked up a thin tube that had disconnected from his arm when he had knocked the curtains open while Flay turned him back over, "Kira…"

"He's covered with sweat," Flay said nervously as she pulled the covers back up to his chest as Miriallia reconnected the tube to his arm, "What should we do?" For a moment, the two stopped talking when they saw his eyes open a bit but then shut again as he breathed heavily. "His fever isn't going down one bit," she added, "Where did the doctor go?" At that moment, the door opened and the two looked up to see who it was. Instead of the doctor, however, it was Ryo and Tolle who came inside.

"We heard a noise coming from in here," Ryo said as they went over to the two, "Is everything okay?"

"It's Kira," Miriallia sighed, "He started thrashing around in his sleep."

"Again? That's the third time in the past two hours," Ryo groaned, "The stress must've really gotten to him." While the students watched over their friend, the Captain and Mu were in the Staff Quarters looking over their current situation.

"This is Alaska," Mu started, pointing to a blue area on a map, "And this is our present location." His finger moved to a red area on a different spot, "We've made quite a landing; smack in the middle of ZAFT territory, in fact."

"Well, it couldn't be helped," Murrue sighed, taking a sip from the mug in her hand, "After all, we couldn't afford to become separated from the Strike and X." Mu turned to her and nodded to show his agreement before taking a sip from his own mug. "In any case, our goal and destination point remains unchanged," she continued, setting down her mug and half-consciously reached up to her bangs and started twisting them around her finger, "We will still head to the JOSH-A headquarters in Alaska." Sensing that she was troubled, Mu took a seat next to her desk.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, "You've been acting kind of strange ever since we landed."

"Yes, I'm fine," Murrue smiled, "But thanks for caring."

"Are you sure?" Mu frowned, "Even towards your second in command?" At this, Murrue paused as she recalled the brief exchange between Natarle and herself after the Lieutenant-Junior Grade had authorized the launch of the Strike, X, and Mobius Zero.

"Yes, everything's normal again," she nodded and Mu smiled as well.

"Well then, that's fine with me too," he said and took another sip from his mug. "Alright, I'm gonna get some shut eye after checking on Kira for a bit," he added, putting his mug on the desk and getting up and then added as he was about to leave, "You should get some sleep too. It wouldn't do to have the captain be a mess." Murrue looked at him oddly as he left and then back down at her desk as the door closed. Meanwhile, back in the infirmary, Flay was busy placing a moist cloth against Kira's forehead while the doctor talked to the others, who were all present.

"As I said, it's not a contagious fever and there aren't any apparent problems with his internal organs," he said, "But for now, all we can do is to keep him cool and make sure he doesn't become dehydrated."

"But…" Sai started but Ryo nudged him in the ribs to silence him so that the doctor could keep talking.

"To tell you the truth, this is the first time I've ever had to examine a Coordinator, so I'm not too sure that my diagnosis is completely accurate," the doctor admitted, "But keep in mind that his physical and mental functions surpass ours by a large degree, so there's no real need to worry."

"Well…" Sai tried to say but was again silenced by Ryo; this time by getting his foot stepped on.

"He may look the same on the outside, but inside, his body functions quite differently," he continued, "He has a body that can generate much more energy than ours and a mind that can absorb much more knowledge, you know." He pointed at his head at this last part as if to emphasize his point, "They don't contract potentially fatal diseases and they have an excellent immune system too." At this, Kira stirred a bit and Flay turned back to him before pressing the cloth against his face again. "Of course, they'll die if shot, they can have fevers, and they need rest too, but their risks are far less than ours," he said, "Did you hear about how high the temperature rose in the cockpit of both Mobile Suits?"

"No," Kuzzey replied, shaking his head while most of the others looked at each other. All of them except for Ryo, that is, who nodded.

"Well, let's just say that if it was any one else, they'd be dead," the doctor told them then looked at Ryo, "Am I not right, Master Chief Mouri?"

"Pretty much," Ryo nodded, "Even for me, it felt like I was gonna get boiled alive in there."

"But anyway," the doctor smiled, "This kind of fever shouldn't be too hard for him to handle." As he said this, Sai looked over to Flay, who was still staring at Kira.

"Hey, it's Flaga," someone outside the door said, "I'm coming in now." The door opened and the Lieutenant Commander walked in as the others turned to look at him. "What? Is something wrong?" he asked, looking at their quiet faces.

"Er, no, nothing," the doctor replied, getting up, "Well, I just explained this to them, right now, but…"

"Functions very differently, huh?" Sai said, quoting the doctor as he explained everything to Mu. The others sighed and looked on.

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Out in space, the Vesailius and Gamow were still hovering above the Earth where they had been for a while. On board the Nazca-class cruiser, Athrun stood near the window in the waiting room near the docks and stared blankly out into the busy hangar. Even as he floated there, his mind went back to the battle within Heliopolis. As he shut his eyes, he recalled witnessing Rusty's death right in front of him and then gunning down the officer who had done it. He then remembered the officer who had wounded in the shoulder and then had rushed to finish her off with his knife after his rifle jammed. The one thing that stopped him was the fact that Kira had been there as well and the shock had rendered him immobile for about a minute.

His memories then shifted to the second battle, in which he had fought in the Aegis for the first time against the Strike. This time, he remembered the death of his mentor Miguel, who fell before the Sword Strike. Despite having the nickname "Magical Comet of Dusk", he had underestimated the abilities of the Earth Forces' new Mobile Suits and perished for his mistake. Then, he remembered confronting Kira face to face while both were in their respective Mobile Suits.

He then thought of the battle where he first faced the Strike while in space. The one where he had risked being punished for his actions when he flew into the path of the Duel and seized the Strike after its Phase Shift Armor had gone down. This had, of course, enraged Yzak but Athrun hadn't planned on letting him kill Kira either. It was then that the unidentified Mobile Suit and the Mobile Armor had interrupted and Kira escaped.

His thoughts drifted over to when Kira had returned Lacus to the Vesailius. At first, he had been unsure when the transmission came in but he had requested permission to launch anyway. When Lacus was safely beside him, he had called out to his friend and told him to go back with him but in the end, Kira refused and returned to the Legged Ship again. At that moment, he was distracted from his thoughts when he heard the door open.

"Oh, you were in here?" he heard someone say and turned to see Nicol at the door, "I've just heard that Yzak and Dearka have both landed safely on Earth."

"I see," Athrun nodded and turned back to the window as Nicol joined him.

"The thing is, they don't really have a set return date," Nicol added, "So I guess this means that they're gonna be stationed at the Gibraltar Base for a while." Athrun nodded again and turned back to the window. There a brief silence in the room and Nicol looked at Athrun a bit worriedly as he spaced out again.

"How's Yzak's wound doing?" he suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Um, well…I'm sure it's a lot better now," Nicol said, "You don't really have to worry about him, though. He fought really well during the last battle, you know."

"Oh, that's right," Athrun nodded, smiling as he remembered Yzak's stubbornness to go out to battle and even shouting at Captain Zelman to let him go.

"But still, I'm a little worried," Nicol admitted as he turned to the window.

"As in?"

"In the end, we weren't able to succeed in the seizure or destruction of the Earth Forces' new warship or their two Mobile Suits either," the green-haired pilot replied, "That's why Commander Creuset has been ordered to return to PLANT again, isn't it?"

"I guess it's because not even the Commander could take down the Legged Ship," Athrun smiled, "So it's only normal that the committee would be feeling some tension."

"Athrun?" Nicol blinked, watching his friend space out again, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," Athrun replied, "Anyway, I'm sure that there's nothing to worry ourselves about. It's probably just gonna be another big debate about what ORB's been up to again."

"Yeah, it's almost like our return is just another plan set in motion," Nicol smiled, "Well, I'm gonna go check on the Blitz. I'll see you later, Athrun." With that, he left, but not before turning back to look at his friend one last time before the door closed. Now alone with his thoughts, Athrun allowed them to drift back to after the battle in which Yzak was wounded. His mind replayed Rau's words clearly through his head.

"_It was the Strike and that other unknown unit. So, what's it going to be? Will you shoot them down or be shot down by them?"_

"Kira…"

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Back in Libya, it was now morning and Kira was finally starting to wake up. The first thing that he saw when he opened his eyes was Birdee standing on his pillow next to his head.

"Hey, Birdee," he smiled as it chirped twice before hearing the curtain next to him open.

"Oh! Are you awake now?" a voice asked and he turned to see Flay standing next to him.

"F-Flay?" he blinked as she smiled, "What're you…" As he said this, he tried to sit up but was stopped by a sudden pain in his chest.

"Don't! You shouldn't get up so quickly," Flay exclaimed and quickly pushed him back down onto the mattress.

"Where am I?" Kira asked as he looked around, "This doesn't look like the room I sleep in."

"The ship's infirmary," she replied as Birdee flew around in circles nearby, "You were unconscious by the time you docked with the ship, so that's probably why you don't remember."

"Oh? So that means we're…"

"On Earth, somewhere in Africa, I think," Flay smiled, "We landed here just last night."

"That's good," Kira sighed, "Say, how's Ryo? Is he alright?"

"You rang?" someone else asked as the door opened and Kira lifted his head up to see the said pilot coming in.

"Nah, not really," Kira smiled, "You feeling okay?"

"Well, I'm certainly in better shape than you are, that's a given," Ryo said, pointing at Kira, "But other than the occasional drowsiness, I'm just peachy. You hanging in there?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Kira nodded.

"Well good," Ryo grinned and turned to leave, "Because you've got the others worried almost as sick as you were!" While the three of them laughed, Mu and Murdoch were both in the hangar inspecting the new Skygraspers that they had received.

"I took a look at the manual last night, the new model is pretty exciting," Mu said, looking at the one they had uncovered, "But still, this whole 'I can also strap on a Striker-Pack thing'…am I gonna be Kira's delivery boy now or what?"

"Ha ha, well, if it's gonna be you, Lieutenant," Murdoch began but then hastily added, "Err, I mean Lieutenant-Commander, you can conceivably deliver in a place like this.

"Yeah, but even though I'm grateful for Admiral Halberton's good favor," Mu frowned as Murdoch went to check on it, "No matter what his intentions were, what's the point of being promoted at a time like this?" He went forward and looked beneath the craft to take a look at its landing gear, "I mean, I'm happy about the pay raise and all, but when the hell am I gonna have the time to use the extra money anyway? Besides, it's not like the situation's gonna get any easier from here on anyway."

"I hear ya, but, enough of that. So, all of the students are now commissioned soldiers, eh?" Murdoch said, testing a restraining wire, "I also hear that Kira and Ryo are both Master Chiefs now. Well, they're both pilots, after all."

"Yes, but other factors led to their promotions," Mu replied, checking the Skygrasper's four machine guns, "Oh well, I'm not complaining."

"Ha ha, yes, well," Murdoch laughed, "They'll be real pilots soon enough. Oh yeah, how's the kid's fever doing?"

"I heard it was gone by morning," Mu said, now looking around in the cockpit, "I wonder if it's the Strike or his body that's top notch." He then turned and asked, "By the way, I've often heard those two call the Strike and X 'Gundams'. Why's that?"

"Oh, that's what appears on the activation panel of the Strike," he replied, "General Unilateral Neuro-link…something like that. They probably linked together the first letter of each term. The military just uses the 'G' from the first one." Meanwhile, the students were in the cafeteria, where Ryo had just informed them of Kira's condition.

"Oh? Kira's awake?" Miriallia asked happily as she sat down with her tray.

"Yup, he just woke up a little while ago," Ryo nodded, "He said he's sorry for making all of you worry."

"Yeah, he said he was feeling better, so he's already back in his room," Sai said, "Flay took his meal to him, I think." At that moment, Flay herself came into the room with two trays stacked on top of each other.

"Flay?" Tiffa asked, looking up, "I thought you were with Kira?"

"Shift change," she replied.

"How's Kira doing?" Miriallia asked.

"He seems to be back to normal," Flay smiled, "He's eaten a full meal already. I guess last night's commotion was just a dream. The doctor told him to rest for the day, though." She stopped at the counter and put the tray down, "I guess his is made differently from ours after all." Ryo frowned at the comment while the others glanced at each other. Flay noticed then and then added, "Um, I mean, no offense to you or anything, Ryo."

"…None taken," Ryo replied but his expression didn't improve.

"I see…" Miriallia said, "But…it's good to see that he's well again."

"Yeah," Kuzzey nodded, "I'm glad that he's okay now."

"Hey, Flay, aren't you tired?" Sai asked, "I mean, you did spend the whole night watching over Kira and all. Maybe you should rest a little."

"I'm alright," Flay replied as she filled a cup with water, "I ate my meal with Kira a little while ago. Besides, it's not like I have other duties like the rest of you."

"Of course," Kuzzey said, "Now that we've been given a rank, things feel kind of different. Now this uniform actually means something."

"That's right, Crewman Second Class Buzkirk!" Tolle laughed and gave Kuzzey a friendly slap on the back.

"Huh? Oh…yeah, uh…"

"Tolle," Miriallia said, looking at him oddly, "Did you always want to join the army?"

"Um, well, no not really," Tolle replied, grinning sheepishly and scratching the back of his head.

"Well then don't joke around," Flay frowned as she filled a second cup.

"Flay…"

"We need Kira to get well real soon," Flay said and Ryo's eyes narrowed further at her words. "I'm still a little worried," she added in a normal tone, picking up the cups, "So I'll go check on him again real quick."

"Flay, wait," Sai suddenly said and got up before putting a hand on Flay's shoulder before she could walk out of the door.

"What?" she snapped and Sai cringed a bit before drawing back. The others stared, surprised by her sudden change in attitude.

"Um, well…"

"Look, Sai," Flay sighed, "We were engaged because of an arrangement between our dads. But…mine's dead now." Sai shifted nervously and the others looked on, a bit worried as to what would happen now that such a sensitive topic had been brought up. "Our engagement was only at the 'possibility' stage and now that the situation has changed," Flay suddenly smiled, "I don't think that we should feel so bound by it. So you really don't need to worry about me." With that, she left, leaving Sai to stand there by himself.

"Well, I might as well go and see how that idiot's doing too," Ryo said after a few minutes, "Later, guys." With that, he too went out of the room and quietly walked after Flay. As soon as he was close enough, he ducked behind a wall and watched her before going after her again when she was far away enough. Flay, who had no idea that she was being followed, let her mind drift as she walked. A sudden memory of her father's ship being destroyed flashed through her mind and then she recalled Sai saying that the Aegis' pilot was an old friend of Kira's. She remembered Ryo's confession in her room when he admitted having shot down her father's ship and destroying Junius Seven.

"No…even if I win this gamble…" she thought and then remembered the moment in the locker room where Kira promised to never run away again, "Those two must fight and fight until they both die…I can't forgive them otherwise." As she walked away, Ryo peered out from his hiding place and narrowed his eyes at her.

"So that's how it is," he thought and began to tail her again, "I'd better keep an eye on Kira and make sure Flay doesn't deceive him completely…" Later, back in the cafeteria, the others were talking about where they were going to go next when Tiffa suddenly put down her fork and rested her chin on her hands.

"Tiffa? What's wrong?" Miriallia asked, seeing the movement, "Is something bothering you?"

"I was just thinking about what Flay said," Tiffa replied, shifting her cup around in a nervous way, "About her not having any real duties on board…"

"What about it?" Tolle blinked, not understanding.

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Kuzzey asked, also curious and Sai nodded in agreement.

"Well, what she said reminded me that I'm still just a bystander," Tiffa said, "Though I was allowed to stay on the ship, it was only because there was no other place for me to go to. But now I'm afraid that I'll be forced to leave once the ship reaches civilization. After all, civilians aren't allowed on battleships when it's not an emergency."

"She's right," Tolle pointed out, "I don't think Badgiruel's gonna be too willing to let her stay on board after we reach a town."

"But what can we do?" Kuzzey asked, "The only way she can stay is if…" His words faltered as the truth of the situation sank in. In order to stay aboard the Archangel, Tiffa would have to enlist as a formal member of the Earth Forces.

"Tiffa, you're not seriously considering enlisting, are you?" Miriallia asked worriedly, "Please, Tiffa, don't take the same path that we chose. We're doing this because we feel obligated to stay and help."

"And I do as well," Tiffa replied seriously and then smiled, "Besides, if I left you, I would be ignoring the basic rule of friendship, won't I? Friends should always stay with each other; no matter where they have to go, they go together." Even as they argued, Ryo came back from visiting Kira and looked around.

"Um, hi guys," he blinked, "What'd I miss?"

"Ryo, you have to talk some sense into her!" Miriallia pleaded, "You're her best friend…tell her that enlisting is a bad idea!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Ryo said, holding his hands up, "I may be a Ne-…Coordinator, but I'm not a super computer. Why don't you start over from the beginning?" While Ryo mentally kicked himself for almost telling them about what he really was, Miriallia explained how Tiffa was planning on enlisting so that she could stay on the ship. When she was done explaining, Ryo was surprised to find himself not as shocked as he thought he would have been. "Well, I can't really decide for her," he replied, much to the surprise of the others, "Look, Tiffa, I'm not saying that I agree with your decision but I won't stop you either. Just think about it for a while, okay?"

"I've made up my mind," Tiffa said, standing up, "I'm going to stay."

"Tiffa…"

"It's alright," she smiled, "I'll be okay. Ryo, could you show me where I can sign up?" Ryo nodded and Tiffa followed him out of the cafeteria, leaving the others inside.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Ryo asked a few minutes later, "Because there's still time to back out now."

"No," Tiffa replied, shaking her head, "I know what I have to do."

"You don't 'have' to do this, you know," Ryo pointed out.

"I know," Tiffa said with a slight smile, "But this is my choice."

"Well then, all I can say now is good luck," Ryo sighed and stopped in front of a door. Inside, Murrue was typing something on her laptop when she heard someone knock and say, "Master Chief Petty Officer Mouri, entering!"

"Huh? Oh, come in," Murrue blinked, looking up as the door opened and Ryo entered before snapping a quick salute to her, "Is there something that you needed?" Ryo stepped aside and Murrue looked at him in confusion when she saw Tiffa standing outside of the door.

"M-may I come in, Captain?" the girl asked nervously, wringing her hands.

"Oh, um, sure," Murrue said, "Go ahead." Tiffa bowed a bit before entering and Murrue looked back and forth between them. "Master Chief Mouri," she said, "What's this all about?"

"She'll explain." Ryo answered, pointing his thumb at Tiffa, "This was her idea anyway."

"Well then, in that case," Murrue nodded, "Would you mind stepping outside for a bit?"

"Of course," Ryo said and saluted before turning on his heel and leaving the room. This left Tiffa alone in the office with Murrue.

"I'm so sorry, but it's been a while since we've actually talked," Murrue admitted, "So I'm afraid that I've forgotten your name."

"It's Tiffa," the younger girl stammered, "Tiffa Adil."

"Oh yes, I remember now," Murrue nodded and smiled, "Now then, is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, you see," Tiffa began, "I remembered that civilians aren't allowed on battleships unless it's an emergency. The only reason why I was kept on board this ship was because there was no where else for me to go."

"That's true," Murrue nodded, "But what are you trying to say?"

"Captain, I understand that I lack sufficient experience with this sort of thing," Tiffa said desperately, bowing a little again, "But please, please allow me to enlist in the Earth Forces!" At first, Murrue blinked to check if she had heard correctly and then sighed.

"Listen, Tiffa," she sighed, "I appreciate your resolve, but this isn't the kind of thing you can take lightly."

"I already thought long and hard about this," Tiffa replied firmly, "I believe that this is the best choice for me."

"But…surely, you have somewhere to go!" Murrue said, "What about your family? Won't they be worried?"

"My family died on Junius Seven," Tiffa answered sadly, "It was Ryo who brought me out of the colony before the accident that destroyed it. I feel obligated to stay by his side and help him to repay him for all that he has done for me." Meanwhile, Ryo paced around outside the office. Since the door was soundproof, he couldn't hear what was going on inside and at one point, he stopped pacing and leaned against the wall outside the door. A few minutes later, however, he heard the door slide open and looked to see Tiffa walking out with a flat box under her arm.

"Well? How did it go?" he asked, "Did you get in, Tiffa?"

"It's all settled now," she smiled, "And that's Crewman Second Class Adil, to you, Master Chief Mouri." The two laughed as they walked away, unaware that Murrue was watching them through the door.

"They seem rather happy together," she thought and turned back to her laptop as the door closed, "I wonder if that girl is really staying only because of her debt to him…" Back outside, Ryo had showed Tiffa the way to the locker room so that she could change into her uniform and when she came back out, Ryo had to try not to laugh. Her new uniform was similar to Miriallia's and Flay's, a simple magenta-color, but her skirt was a creamy-purple, similar to her civilian clothes. Her stockings, which went up to her thighs, were both a very light grey.

"Well?" she asked, "H-how do I look?"

"I can't say it's much different from Milly's or Flay's," Ryo said, "But it looks good on you." He was somewhat right too, the uniform hugged her figure more tightly than her normal clothes and now that she wasn't wearing a dress, her long, slender legs were more visible, although she didn't seem too happy about this.

"I don't know," she sighed, picking at her skirt, "I feel kind of exposed in this."

"Nonsense, you look fine!" Ryo laughed, mussing up her hair in a friendly way, "Come on, let's go show the others before the shift changes." Tiffa nodded and the two headed down to the cafeteria, where the others were still waiting.

"Aww, Tiffa, you look great!" Miriallia exclaimed and got up to get a closer look, "You should wear clothes like this more often!"

"I-it's not that great, really," Tiffa blushed, "It's the same as yours."

"Yeah, but it still looks a lot better than that dress that you always wear!" Miriallia said, "You're way too modest, it doesn't hurt to reveal some natural beauty sometimes!"

"I agree," Tolle nodded, "If you dressed like this before I asked Milly out, I might have asked _you_ out instead!" This earned him a playful smack from Miriallia but even she was laughing at the comment. Later, as Sai and Kuzzey headed to the bridge for their shift, Ryo headed down to the dock because he had heard of the new Skygraspers that they had received and wanted to see them. Tiffa went along with him because she had yet to receive the times for her shift and soon, the two walked in and Ryo saw Mu sitting in one of the atmospheric fighters, typing something.

"Hey! Lieutenant Commander!" Ryo greeted, "How's that Skygrasper coming along?"

"So far so good," Mu grinned, looking up from his work, "But it's going kind of slow, these things take a while to program." It was then that he noticed Tiffa behind Ryo and asked, "Hey, what's she doing here?"

"Oh, we don't know when her shift is," Ryo said, looking back at her, "So until the Captain or Lieutenant Junior Grade Badgiruel assigns her one, she won't be doing much."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped then," Mu shrugged, "So, kid, what made you decide to volunteer?"

"I knew that when we reached civilization again, I would have to leave," Tiffa explained a bit shyly, somewhat nervous in front of her superior officer, "So I decided to enlist so that I could stay with the others."

"Really now?" Mu smiled and then pointed at Ryo, "I was thinking that you stayed for this guy here."

"W-what the hell!" the said boy sputtered as Tiffa blushed, "Why is everyone in here saying that?" He pointed at Tiffa with one hand and jabbed his thumb at himself, "I'm telling you right here and now, there's nothing going on between the two of us! It's just mutual understanding, that's all!" As soon as he said that, Tiffa could have sworn she felt a pain in her chest but ignored it and chose to just stare at her feet instead. "Don't you agree, Tiffa?" Ryo suddenly asked, turning his head towards her, "We're just friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah," she nodded, still feeling somewhat upset, "That's what we are. Just friends." Ryo noticed the sudden change in her attitude and turned to face her completely.

"Tiffa, are you feeling okay?" he frowned, "You suddenly sound different."

"I-I'm fine," she replied and put on a forced smile, "I'd better get going, I still have to see the Captain about my schedule."

"Well, if you say so," Ryo shrugged and Tiffa nodded and bid Mu good-bye before leaving the hangar.

"Tsch, nice going, kid," Mu remarked sarcastically from the cockpit, "Real smooth."

"What the hell are you talking about, Lieutenant Commander?" Ryo asked, turning back towards the Hawk of Endymion, "I don't recall doing anything wrong."

"I guess that you were so caught up in denying how you really feel," Mu shrugged casually, "That you didn't see the hurt look in her eyes when you said that."

"Just what do you mean by-" Ryo started, about to retort to his statement, but then faltered when the last part sunk into his mind, "Wait…'hurt look in her eyes'?"

"You didn't notice after all," Mu sighed and went back to his typing, "Well then, if you don't have anything else to say, I still have to finish this, you know."

"Alright then," Ryo shrugged, "I'll see you later, Lieutenant Commander." He left without another word. No less than a minute after he left, a crew-member came up and Mu looked at him.

"Excuse me, sir," the crew-member said and held up two paper flowers, "But I found these in the cockpits of the Strike and X, so I was wondering if they belonged to the pilots." While this was going on, Tiffa was sitting alone in her room, lost in her own thoughts.

"We are just friends aren't we?" she thought sadly and then put her hand to her chest, "Then…why does my heart…hurt like this…?" Suddenly, she felt something warm and wet drip onto her other hand and felt a similar feeling on her face. Upon reaching up and touching it, she was surprised to find it moist. "Am I…crying?" Tiffa blinked, "But why…over something like this?"

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That night, Kira was sitting in his room with and arguing with Ryo about whether or not he had feelings for Lacus Clyne again when suddenly, the buzzer on his door sounded.

"Kira? Can I come in?" someone asked and Kira was surprised to hear that it was Flay.

"Um, sure, go ahead," he replied and the door opened

"Oh, Ryo, you're in here too. Anyway, a member of the ground crew asked me to give these to you," she said and the two pilots saw that she was holding something in her hand, "He figured that they belonged to the two of you, since they found them in the cockpits of your Mobile Suits." She held up the objects and all at once, Kira felt his heart stop for a moment. There, in Flay's hands, were the two flowers that the little girl Elle had given to Ryo and himself. Images of the exploding civilian shuttle passed in front of his eyes as Ryo looked down at his feet and fidgeted uncomfortably. Flay blinked, seeing the sudden change in their moods and asked, "Kira? Ryo? What…?"

"Nothing," Ryo said and stood up before going over to Flay and taking the flower that was his.

"Th-thanks," Kira stuttered and took his as well, his hand shaking, before turning away while Ryo looked at his guiltily. As he looked at it, his free hand clenched into a fist and he sighed heavily.

"Guys?" Flay asked again, "Is…something the matter?"

"Th-that little girl…" Kira stuttered, his voice shaking and they could both tell that he was crying, "I couldn't…save her…I couldn't…" At this, he fell to his knees and burst into tears, clutching his sides tightly. Ryo sighed again and rubbed his temples, knowing what Kira was going through.

"Kira…" Flay said and knelt in front of him and Ryo didn't see her smile a bit as she added, "Oh, Kira, it'll be okay. I'm here for you now, don't worry…" She took his head in her arms and put her face against his hair. Kira looked up at her with teary eyes before losing all restraint and falling forward into her waiting arms, sobbing into her chest.

"I think you have this under control," Ryo suddenly nodded, "Take care of him, okay?" Flay nodded and Ryo left to mourn in private. As soon as he was gone, Flay lifted him head up to face her and smiled in an assuring way.

"Everything will be okay," she smiled, "My thoughts will protect you…" With that, she leaned closer and kissed him. His thoughts scrambled, Kira returned the kiss and in a matter of moments, they were all over each other. Meanwhile, far away from the Archangel, a small group of people were standing on a sand dune, one of them observing the ship with a pair of binoculars.

"I've only seen a diagram of it in Heliopolis, but there's no doubt about it," the person said, lowering the binoculars, "That's the Earth Forces' New Model Mobile Assault Ship, the Archangel."

"Do you think they'll accept our offer?" a man asked.

"If they don't, they'll just have to destroy them, now won't we?" the person replied and turned to show a pair of amber eyes belonging to a young woman glittering with confidence, shoulder-length blonde hair swinging behind her in the process. Suddenly, a message came in through the radio of their vehicle and a boy her age answered it.

"What is it?"

"The Tiger has left the Lesseps," a voice crackled over the channel, "And he's brought five BuCues with him. He's heading towards the new ship." When the message cut off, the blonde-haired girl turned and faced the Archangel, her brows now knitted in concentration.

Phase 15: End


	17. Burning Clouds of Sand

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 16- Burning Clouds of Sand

_February 15_, _C.E. 71, Libya Desert_

"What's it doing? The little bugger?"

"It hasn't moved yet, Commander." Despite the fact that they were in the desert, the two men were both over-coats to protect them from the surprisingly chilly desert winds. The first man, who was standing, held a mug of coffee in his hand, while the other was lying on a sand dune and peering at the Archangel through a pair of binoculars.

"The interference from the N-Jammers is pretty heavy," the standing man smiled, his wild hairstyle similar to that of a large cat, "So I guess our angel is sleeping peacefully at the moment, huh?" He took a sip and then looked up as if startled.

"What? What is it?" the second man asked, looking harder and shifting his ZAFT uniform cap out of his eyes, "I don't see anything."

"No, it's nothing," the first one laughed, "I guess I accidentally put in five percent less mocha this time. It's pretty good." With that, he turned as he took another drink and his subordinate looked at him incredulously before getting up and following him down the sand dune. The two headed towards a small temporary camp, which housed several tanks and combat helicopters and five blue and yellow quadruped Mobile Suits. As they slid down the last two feet, the lead man tossed his cup over his shoulder and his subordinate fumbled it in his hands a little before managing a secure grip on it. "We'll begin our plan now," he said once all of the combat personnel had been assembled, "We will commence our attack on the Earth Forces' new warship, the Archangel. Our objective for now is to assess the capabilities of both the ship itself and its Mobile Suits."

"Wouldn't just destroying them be easier?" one of the pilots asked and the others chuckled in approval.

"Well, we'll do that when the time comes," the leader shrugged, "That ship was the one that Creuset let slip through his fingers and on top of that, Admiral Halberton had the entire 8th Mobility Fleet sacrifice themselves to make sure it made it to the surface. Don't forget that…for now. Alright then, I wish all of you good luck." As the soldiers saluted their leader, he returned it cheerfully and walked off.

"All personnel, board your units at once!" the second officer ordered and there was a slight confusion as everyone rushed to get to their vehicles. The five pilots boarded their Mobile Suits and activated them, their single cameras lighting up as they stood. The two officers themselves got into a small reconnaissance jeep so that they could watch.

"Ahh," the first one sighed contentedly, "You know you're gonna win when the coffee is first rate. Well then, let's go have a war."

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Far off in the distance, the Archangel lay dormant, its crew still blissfully unaware of the approaching danger. In its dock, only two people were still up and working. Both Mu and Murdoch were both hard at work programming the Skygrasper but not even the best soldiers could avoid the fatigue of six straight hours of no rest.

"Hey, Lieutenant Commander," Murdoch sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead and stretched his aching fingers, "Why don't we call it a day for now? We won't know what the rest of these settings should be until we've actually tried them."

"I guess you're right," Mu nodded and then stretched as he yawned widely, "Kira regained consciousness, so we should be able to move by morning. I would like the finish everything now, but I guess we'll have to put it off until then." Meanwhile, in another part of the ship, Tolle slouched out of his room, rubbing his eyes as he yawned widely with his uniform halfway on. He had just been woken up for his shift and still a bit groggy as he lazily put his other arm through his sleeve as Miriallia came out as well, having finished buttoning hers up.

"Geez, Tolle, can't you do anything by yourself?" she sighed and started helping him button up his own. Tolle replied by groaning sleepily, having not opened his eyes yet. "If you go onto the bridge with that face on," Miriallia warned as she finished, "Badgiruel's gonna have your head on a silver platter."

"Well that's a nice way to get my attention," Tolle grumbled sarcastically and then yawned again. At that moment, Milly saw something behind him and craned her neck to see. Seeing this, Tolle turned around and saw Sai standing in front of an open door. Curious, the two went over and kept a reasonable distance from him so that they could hear what he was saying.

"Flay?" he called out into the room, "Look, I'm sorry for coming here at this hour, but I couldn't really make time for the two of us today."

"Aww, how sweet," Miriallia smiled quietly as she nudged Tolle down another hallway, "Now why can't you talk to me like that?"

"Anyway, about this afternoon," Sai continued, "Um, look, can you get up for a second?" As he was talking, Tolle looked back to see if he was close and then looked at his girlfriend.

"You know, I was surprised to hear that they were engaged," he whispered, referring to earlier in the afternoon.

"It's not an engagement," Miriallia replied, keeping her voice down as well, "They were just talking about it, that's all."

"Pfft, same difference," Tolle shrugged and the two looked ahead again.

"You know," Miriallia suddenly said, "Flay was acting kind of strange earlier."

"I noticed too," Tolle nodded, "Did you see that look Ryo gave her?"

"Yeah," Milly replied, "I mean, it's not that Flay disliked those two before, but…"

"Well, Flay doesn't like Coordinators, right?" Tolle asked and put his hands behind his head as she frowned at him, "She's a grade lower than us, but she was in the same class as you and the kind of figure that turned quite a few heads. I actually heard her say that she thought Kira was kind of cute once." Miriallia nodded, recalling that event as he added, "I just hope it doesn't lead to anything odd between them."

"Yeah," Miriallia nodded, quieting down as they passed the Captain's room, thinking she was asleep. However, the occupant was actually staring at the locket that hung around her neck. It was in the shape of a coffin and Murrue sighed as she closed it and rolled over onto her other side. On the bridge, Neumann was busy inspecting the ship's systems to make sure everything was working properly while Chandra explained to Kuzzey a few of the ship's workings.

"The ship is cooled using a black-hole ventilation system," he said, "So if you fool the satellite infrared rays, it'll suffice. Basically, if you can't see anything on the radar, neither can the other side." Just then, the door opened and Tolle and Miriallia both walked in.

"Time for our shift," Miriallia explained as they headed to their posts.

"You guys are late," Neumann frowned as he turned his seat to face them.

"Ah, sorry, sir," Miriallia apologized quickly and Neumann's faced softened a bit as they took their seats and Miriallia put her ear-piece on. After all, it was hard to stay mad at the kids. Back at the Communications Center, Kuzzey was looking over the N-Jammer Distribution Map that showed the locations of the interference.

"Neutron Jammers, huh?" he sighed and leaned back in his seat, "Can't we remove them or something?"

"It's impossible, they've buried themselves far beneath the surface. We don't even know how many of them there are down there," Chandra replied, shaking his head, "If we could have done it, we would have done it already. Even transmission waves and other things have been crippled too. But hey, look on the bright side; it's a lot better than having nuclear missiles flying back and forth." Kuzzey nodded as he added, "After the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, if ZAFT had retaliated with nukes, the Earth probably wouldn't even be here right now."

"But Junius Seven wasn't even destroyed by nukes!" Kuzzey argued, "It was-"

"I know, I heard from another crew member," Chandra interrupted, "But let's not talk about that here. It's bad enough that he has to live with it." At that moment, the door opened again and this time, it was Natarle who stepped out, carrying a water bottle.

"Well? Any abnormalities?" she asked.

"No, everything's normal," Chandra replied, snapping her a quick salute as she passed and then leaving to do something else.

"Has the distortion data been received?" she asked Neumann and then handed him the water.

"Yeah, thanks," he nodded, accepting the drink, "Generally measuring, the gravity distortion is within the permitted limit. More specifically…" He put his hand out to the side and let go of the bottle but instead of floating in midair, it dropped to the floor with a dull thud, startling him a bit.

"Ensign, you should really get used to the gravity," Natarle said and cracked a small smile as Neumann blinked in surprised before picking it up and handing it back to him.

"Ah, sorry," Neumann replied sheepishly, "It's just that we've been in space for so long, it's become a habit to just leave them floating around."

"The gravitation isn't even," she said, looking at the screen, "Is it being affected by underground caverns?"

"What does that mean?" Tolle asked, looking up from his seat.

"With our current amount of data, we don't know the exact location, but…" Neumann began, "There's a large deposit of fuel and natural gases somewhere in the area. There might be trouble if we land carelessly.

"But are we safe here?" Tolle frowned, now concerned.

"Well, we should be," Neumann nodded and looked at Natarle for confirmation. All she did, though, was straighten up and take a drink from her own water bottle. At that moment, the sensors began to act up and startled the crew from their work.

"We're being laser targeted!" Chandra called up from the CIC, "Confirmed by thermal detection!" His screen expanded to show three incoming objects and he immediately sounded the battle alarm. "All hands, Level 2 Battle Stations!" he called out over the speaker as the klaxon alarm blared throughout the ship, "I repeat, all hands Level 2 Battle Stations!" This startled multiple off-duty officers from their sleep, including Murrue, Murdoch, and Ryo as well.

"Ugh, dammit!" Mu swore and set down his cup of water before getting up and pulling his uniform as he ran out of his room.

"Ah, sorry, Flay!" Sai said, still in front of the room he had been standing in front of as he turned to leave, "We'll talk later, okay?" As he ran to the bridge, he saw Ryo coming out of his room, still looking half-asleep as he buttoned up his uniform. "Hey, better pull yourself together there, buddy!" he laughed, "Or you won't be in any shape to fight!"

"Who said we're fighting?" Ryo grumbled, "It's only Level 2 Battle Stations if I remember correctly."

"Ryo!" someone else called out and he turned to see Tiffa coming towards him.

"Oh, hey, Tiffa," he said, rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes, "What's up?"

"Um, well," she blushed, "I, um, don't really know where I'm supposed to go…"

"Don't worry about it," he smiled and patted her shoulder, "You're not a member of the bridge crew or a pilot. Just stay in your room until things cool down, okay?"

"A-alright," she nodded, "Be careful, okay?"

"Ah, you know me," Ryo laughed, now fully awake as he headed off, "I'm always careful. Anyway, I'd better go and wake Kira up so that he doesn't sleep his lazy ass through the whole thing." Tiffa giggled at the joke and watched him run off. Meanwhile, Kira was startled awake by the alarm in his own room.

"The enemy?" he said out loud and breathed heavily for a while before regaining his senses and climbing out of bed to put his uniform on. He didn't react to the other set of clothes on the other bed that his uniform was on as he pulled his uniform on. "I won't let anyone else die," he muttered as he buttoned his uniform, "I'll protect them this time!" Kira was so caught up that he didn't notice that his actions had disturbed the other person who had been in bed with him. As it turned out, the reason why Sai had gotten no response earlier was because it was Flay that was lying there, covered only by the sheets. She watched Kira run out of the room and as soon as he was gone, she lay back down and turned to face the wall.

"Protect me," she said with a small smile, "Use your abilities to defeat them…" As she said this, a single tear rolled down her face and then she rolled over onto her back and started to laugh uncontrollably while Kira hurried towards the dock. Along the way, however, he almost ran headlong into Ryo, who was just turning the corner.

"Ah, there you are," Ryo smiled, "I was looking for you."

"Stop wasting time!" Kira suddenly snapped, "Hurry up and let's get to the locker room and get our pilot suits on."

"Sheesh, somebody really woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Ryo said sarcastically and hurried after him, "You've got a major bed-head, you know that, right?"

"Yeah? So?" Kira asked, not looking back.

"I've never seen you like that," Ryo grinned, "It's pretty funny. What'd you do to mess it up like that? If I didn't know you better, I'd think that you just got laid or something." When he got no response, however, his brows furrowed and he asked, "You…didn't really get laid…right?"

"Um…" Kira faltered, having lost his hostile attitude.

"Never mind," Ryo sighed, "We're here." As the two hurried to put on their pilot suits, six missiles sped towards the Archangel. Two were destroyed when the Igelstellung guns opened fire automatically but a third detonated near the ground and raised a fireball, though it didn't damage the ship.

"What's the situation?" Murrue asked, now in full uniform, as she sat down in the Captain's seat as the other missiles were destroyed.

"The first wave consisted of a missile attack, six rounds," Pal replied, "We managed to destroy them with the Igelstellung before they could cause any damage."

"Can you find where they came from?"

"No," Kuzzey frowned, "They all came from beyond the sand dunes. I can't pinpoint the exact location."

"All right then, raise the battle alert! All hands, Level One Battle Stations!" Murrue ordered, "Lieutenant Commander Flaga and Master Chief Petty Officers Yamato and Mouri will standby in their units!"

"What's the status of Lieutenant Commander Flaga's Skygrasper?"

"Anti-beam Depth Charge tubes loaded," Sai said, "Ready for deployment!"

"Hey, you don't need that just yet," Chandra said as Tonomura loaded up the weapon screen. Meanwhile, outside, the two men from before were watching the ship from their jeep and the first one nodded in a satisfied way.

"Good, let's begin," he ordered, putting down his binoculars.

"Air units, commence attack," the second one said into a radio, "Remember the mission." As soon as he said that, three combat helicopters zoomed over the jeep and headed for the Archangel. Back in the ship, Mu and Murdoch were working as fast as they could to prepare the Skygrasper.

"Look, I just need it to be able to take off," Mu told the technician.

"I told you already, it's impossible at the moment," Murdoch argued, "Even then, weapon's charging is still gonna take some time."

"Three heat sources detected at five o'clock!" Tonomura announced on the bridge, "I've confirmed them as ZAFT Combat Helicopters!" The helicopters each launched a missile from both of their weapon bays and then retreated behind a sand dune.

"Missiles approaching!" Chandra warned.

"Combat Helicopters lost!" Tonomura frowned, "They seem to have disappeared behind a sand dune!"

"Fire the depth charges!" Natarle ordered, "Intercept those missiles!" The ship's Anti-beam Depth Charge launchers opened and fired. Moments later, their contents collided with the missiles and destroyed them. Just then, a new screen appeared on Miriallia's monitor and Kira's face appeared.

"Where are the enemy units?" Kira demanded almost frantically, "Strike and X will go out to engage them!"

"Kira, wait," Miriallia blinked, surprised by his sudden change in attitude, "Hold on a second…"

"Hurry up and open the hatch!" Kira interrupted, sealing the visor on his helmet.

"Don't mind him, Milly," Ryo sighed as he opened up a video-link to the CIC, "He's been acting weird ever since he woke up."

"It's too dangerous," Natarle frowned, "We haven't confirmed the location or battle strength of the enemy yet! Besides, we haven't even given the order to launch yet."

"This isn't the time to worry about that kind of stuff!" Kira argued, growing more impatient, "We've gotta launch the Strike and X now! Just open the hatch already so we can go! Ryo and I can take care of the enemy!"

"Kira…" Miriallia muttered, somewhat frightened by his behavior.

"Captain," Natarle said, turning to Murrue, "What do you say?"

"I don't like his tone of voice," Murrue frowned, "But he does have a point, we can't destroy them with just the ship's weapons. Alright, Strike and X, standby for launch!"

"Yes ma'am," Ryo saluted and then added, "Captain, I ask of you not to take Kira's sudden change in behavior the wrong way."

"Master Chief Mouri?"

"I'm sure that he'll be back to normal after the battle," Ryo smiled, "He probably just needs to let off some steam after everything that's happened."

"I see," Murrue nodded, "Alright then, Master Chief Mouri, I understand."

"Open the hatch. Strike and X, prepare for launch," Natarle ordered, "Your objective is to destroy the Combat Helicopters and protect the ship. Be aware that the gravity will somewhat hinder your mobility."

"Roger!" the two pilots saluted.

"Catapult connected. APU, online," Miriallia announced as both Mobile Suits were locked down onto the catapult and their storage locks moved back, "Kira, you'll be using the Launcher Striker for this one." Inside the catapult, several hatches opened around the Strike and mechanical arms attached the Striker-pack. "Power flow on all parts, normal," she said as the hatches opened, "Everything checks out. Strike, X, you are clear to launch!" Meanwhile, Mu had received a call from the bridge, asking him whether the Skygrasper was ready yet.

"No can do!" he replied, "It's not ready to fly yet!" Just then, he heard the sounds of the catapults being activated and turned to see the Strike and X Gundams both launch.

"Master Chief Yamato sure looked like he was itching for a fight earlier," one of the technicians remarked as the two Mobile Suits headed out.

"There's nothing more dangerous than," Mu frowned, "What happened to him, I wonder…?" Back outside, both the Strike and X were quickly falling towards the ground, which surprised Kira since he was so used to just being able to fly freely.

"Kira, you'll have to use your thrusters!" Ryo warned, "Our current momentum might cause damage to the internal structure when we land if we just freefall like this!" Kira nodded and stepped on a pedal. The Strike's thrusters ignited and the X's followed soon after, slowing their fall. However, even with that, they still landed heavily and the Strike lost its balance and stumbled, falling onto its knees. Just then, the Combat Helicopters reappeared and launched their missiles at the two Mobile Suits. Seeing this, Kira quickly had the Strike stand back up as Ryo detached the X's beam rifle from its holder while the missiles detonated all around them. When the sand settled back down, both the Strike and X had activated their Phase Shift Armor and Kira quickly armed the Launcher Striker's Agni Impulse-Cannon.

"Take this!" he swore and the Strike immediately shifted its stance to get a better shot while the targeting visor flipped over Kira's right eye. Unfortunately for him, before he could get a lock, the helicopters disappeared behind another sand dune and then Kira noticed that the sand was continuously shifter around the Strike's feet. Far away, the two men watched the whole thing progress.

"There they are, the X-105 Strike and the other unknown unit," the second man said and his superior smirked.

"Send out the BuCues," he said, "I want to see how well they fare against them." Meanwhile, the Strike had moved to look for the Combat Helicopters but as soon as it landed on a sand dune, the entire thing began to shift and collapse under its weight.

"Crap! I'm sinking!" Kira exclaimed and struggled to keep the Strike steady.

"Don't jump around so much," Ryo said as he scanned the area, "These Mobile Suits are too heavy for the sand to support…" Just then, their sensors reacted and Ryo shouted, "Kira, heads up! We've got company!" Kira turned the Strike just as several quadruped Mobile Suits leaped out from the sand dunes. "Get down!" Ryo yelled and aimed the X's beam rifle but the sudden shift in weight caused the sand to move and the X swayed a bit, "Dammit, this sand…I can't aim straight!" By now, the already precariously balanced Strike had toppled over backwards and fallen to the foot of the dune as the new Mobile Suits rushed away. On the Archangel, the entire bridge crew was alarmed by the appearance of the new units.

"Those are…" Murrue frowned as one of them suddenly shifted its legs onto the caterpillar tracks on the back of them and sped around before firing several missiles from the launcher on its back. Ryo turned the X's beam rifle into a shield and intercepted the missiles with it while Kira was able to avoid getting hit.

"Kira! You okay?" Ryo asked as the Mobile Suits sped away and turned the shield back into its rifle form.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kira panted, "But what are those things?"

"Three enemy Mobile Suits!" Sai said on the bridge, "Confirmed as ZGMF-A802 BuCue types!"

"Only three of them?" Natarle frowned, "Stay on alert, there may be a separate detachment somewhere!" Meanwhile, the Strike had gotten back up and Kira was trying to lock on to one of the BuCues. Unfortunately, they were going too fast for him to keep track of and so he just decided to fire randomly. The X too was firing its beam rifle at the BuCues but none of its shots were reaching their targets.

"Maybe it was different in space," one of the pilots smirked, "But out here in the desert, the BuCue is the king!" Two of the units, armed with Linear Railguns instead of missile pods, fired on the two but missed while Ryo and Kira desperately tried to keep up with them.

"Dammit, now I know how those pilots we fought in Heliopolis felt!" Ryo swore as he fired and missed again, "These things are fast!" Back on the bridge, Natarle was starting to grow frustrated as the others watched intently.

"Load the Sledgehammers!" she ordered, "Aim them at where the BuCues are!"

"But the Strike and X are also there!" Tonomura argued, "If we shoot now, they'll also get hit!"

"They have Phase Shift Armor!" Natarle said, "They can take it!"

"But…"

"That's an order!" Natarle interrupted, "Those two can't beat them like this!" Tonomura frowned at the order but complied nonetheless.

"Roger, loading Sledgehammer," he said, "Missile tubes ten through fourteen are armed."

"Kira, Ryo, watch out!" Miriallia warned, "We're gonna launch Sledgehammer missiles! Get out of the way!"

"Fire Sledgehammers!" Natarle ordered and several missiles launched from the Archangel's rear missile tubes. The BuCues saw this coming and veered off while the missiles exploded near the Strike and X, two of them hitting them.

"God dammit, what are they thinking?" Ryo growled as the cockpit shook and opened a video link to the bridge, "Hey! What the hell is the big idea! We're on your side, remember! Quit shooting at us!"

"Sorry," Murrue stammered, "We were honestly aiming for the BuCues."

"Obviously," Ryo grumbled, "But watch where you shoot those things next time!" As he cut off the connection, the spectators watched and the first one grinned as he saw the missiles hit the two Mobile Suits.

"Well now, what do we have here?" he smirked, "A Captain who abuses his pilots…or maybe he's shooting at them because he has so much faith in their abilities?" By now, three more BuCues appeared and opened fire on the two Gundams, who's pilots were still struggling to get a clean shot at them.

"Screw this!" Ryo said and the X's wings split into a flat "X" as he ignited the its thrusters and stayed up there, "There, now this is much easier." He deployed the X's Scylla Cannon and fired at the BuCues a few times and managed to shoot off one of the stabilizers on one of them as the Strike took another hit. "Kira! Use your thrusters and shoot from the air!" he advised, "You'll just be a sitting duck as long as your standing there and trying to lock on while holding still. Those BuCues may be powerful but I doubt they're good against aerial attacks." Kira nodded and stepped on the peddle to fly up to where the X was. Unfortunately, its thrust wasn't strong enough to hover in one spot like the X and it only managed to get off a few shots before gravity forced it to land.

"Where the heck is this guy aiming?" one of the BuCue pilots wondered as he dodged the shots while the Strike landed and then blasted off again.

"They're definitely first class Mobile Suits," the first man admitted as he watched the Strike shoot at the BuCues before getting hit by a blast from one of their Railguns, "And the pilots' skills aren't too shabby either. But either way, a humanoid frame can't possibly beat a BuCue in a desert battle."

"What's going on with Lieutenant Commander Flaga's Skygrasper?" Murrue asked back on the Archangel's bridge, "Is it still unable to sortie?" Meanwhile, the Strike had flown up and was exchanging fire with the BuCues while the X did the same as it flew around in the sky.

"No matter how hard you try, it'll just turn out the same!" one of the pilots taunted as he avoided a shot, "The desert is no place for a Mobile Suit designed for zero-gravity conditions!"

"Zero-gravity conditions…" Ryo frowned thoughtfully and all of a sudden, he was struck by inspiration, "That's it! Kira, I've figured out how to beat them!"

"Well make it fast!" Kira replied nervously, "I'm having some trouble here!"

"Relax, it's easy," Ryo said and pulled the keyboard in the cockpit down across his lap as he started to attack it with his fingers, "We just need to reprogram the O.S. of our Gundams to better suit desert conditions!"

"Of course!" Kira thought and started to type as well, "If the ground pressure is different, I'll just have to reconfigure it so that I don't slip anymore. And for the friction coefficient, if I estimate the pressure differential…I can create a new calculation setting the friction with the sand at minus 20…" With the new data, both Gundams descended to the ground and slid a little but this time, they didn't sink into the sand, surprising the spectators in the distance.

"It's time to finish this!" one of the BuCue pilots shouted but this time, Kira and Ryo were both ready. As soon as it was close enough, Ryo shifted a control stick forward and the X slammed its knee into the BuCue, sending it flying back.

"Bastards!" another pilot swore as his machine pounced at the Strike. Seeing it, Kira had the Strike smash the butt of the Agni Impulse-Cannon into the BuCue's front, causing to land conveniently on its back. As it struggled to right itself, Strike planted its foot onto where it's cockpit door was and pointed the Agni straight at it.

"Eat this!" Kira shouted and fired the Agni at point blank range.

"Those Mobile Suits…" the first man frowned as he watched the BuCue explode, "Adjusted their motor programs in order to adapt to desert conditions in such a short amount of time. Are those pilots really Naturals?"

"Alright!" Ryo laughed as he deployed the X's Scylla Cannon, "One down, only five more to go! I smell a come back!"

"Yeah," Kira nodded while the Strike stepped out of the BuCue's wreckage, "We can't let them destroy the Archangel…"

"Contact the Lesseps and relay this message!" the first man ordered, "Attack the enemy ship using the main cannons!"

"Damn you!" a BuCue pilot swore, "We'll make you pay for what you did to Meimura!" The remaining BuCues fired their missiles at the Strike and X, raining fire upon them en masse. Ryo deployed the X Gundam's shoulder-mounted quad-barrel Igelstellung gun and fired that along with its chest Igelstellungs while Kira fired the Launcher Striker's 120mm Anti-ship Vulcan gun and dual 350mm Gunlaunchers to intercept the missiles. Meanwhile, far off in the distance, a 250 meter Land Carrier aimed two of its 40cm dual cannons and fired one volley from each. Back on the Archangel, the preparations for the Skygrasper were finally finished and Mu contacted the CIC, reporting that he was ready to launch.

"Heat signatures detected at two o'clock!" Chandra reported, "It's a bombardment!"

"Emergency evasion!" Murrue ordered, "Get us out of the way!" The Archangel immediately lifted up off of the ground and managed to avoid three of the shots but one of them struck its port missile tubes, causing the entire ship to shake.

"Where did those shots come from?" Natarle asked.

"Estimated origin is 20km away, north by northeast!" Sai answered.

"Lieutenant, our ships weapons are incapable of reaching that such a distance!" Tonomura informed and Natarle frowned.

"I'll go get its exact location," Mu suddenly said, "Set that as a target and shoot at it with missiles!"

"It'll take some time to find them, Lieutenant Commander," Natarle reminded him.

"Well then what are we waiting for then?" Mu asked as he finished the final calibrations and put the keyboard away, "Don't get killed before I get back!" The airlock opened and he slowly maneuvered the craft onto the catapult and stopped at the airlock closed and the emergency net folded out behind him.

"Skygrasper, la Flaga Unit, standby for catapult launch!" Miriallia said, "Systems all green! You're good to go, Lieutenant Commander!" Hearing this, Mu stepped on the accelerator and the Skygrasper sped forward before lifting off of the floor of the catapult and into the night. As it flew off, the spectators saw this and were puzzled by the appearance of the fighter.

"Odd," the first one frowned, "The report didn't say anything about that unit."

"Second wave approaching!" Chandra warned, "Impact is imminent!"

"Evade!" Murrue shouted, "All hands, prepare for impact!"

"It's headed on a direct-hit course!" Chandra exclaimed. Out on the battlefield, as the projectiles began to close in on its target, something happened in the cockpits of the Strike and X. In the minds of their pilots, a strange seed, one purple and one gray, descended toward an invisible pool of water and then shattered upon contact. Kira's eyes snapped open to reveal that they had become faded while Ryo's shifted to a similar state. Kira aimed his Gunlaunchers and Anti-ship Vulcan and fired at the ground as Ryo did the same with his shoulder-mounted and chest Igelstellungs, kicking up clouds of sand with the explosions while the two flew up into the air. Kira noticed a BuCue that had leaped at them and immediately had the Strike punch it, sending the unfortunate unit into one of the projectiles and having it take the blow instead. Even as it exploded, the other shots continued on and Kira and Ryo immediately fired their Agni and Scylla cannons at them to intercept them. As the crew of the Archangel and the spectators watched in amazement while explosions flared up in front of the ship, Flay lay on her bed, now sensibly dressed and laughing to herself.

"It'll be alright," she laughed, "That boy will protect us…because he wants to protect me…"

"Hit them when their balance is off!" a pilot shouted, "Right when they land!" As soon as the two touched down, he fired his Railguns at the X Gundam, who was the first to land. "Got him!" he smirked as an explosion flared up but then his eyes widened when he saw the X Gundam fly out from the flames with its oversized beam saber drawn.

"You think you can pull something like that on me!" Ryo snarled and in one swing, sliced the BuCue through the middle with the X's saber. Another BuCue had jumped at the Strike and it fired its Igelstellungs and Anti-ship Vulcan at it as it passed overhead. Kira aimed the Agni at it as it retreated but then a warning beeping sounded from his controls and he looked down and did a double-take a what he saw while the same thing happened in the X's cockpit.

"Lieutenant!" Miriallia exclaimed, "The Strike's and X's power levels are reaching a critical level!"

"Dammit, I used the Agni way too much!" Kira swore as he looked at his power meter.

"Ah, you too?" Ryo asked, frowning at his own as he put the X's saber away, "I lost track of how many times I fired the X's Scylla Cannon and didn't notice how quickly it was draining power."

"They're definitely amazing pilots," the first spectator nodded as he looked at a review of the Strike's armaments, "But according the report, they'll be losing power at any minute now." Looking back up at the two Mobile Suits, he sighed, "You two put on a great show, but I think it's time that you disappeared. It's nothing personal, just our revenge for Meimura." Meanwhile, several missiles exploded around the Strike and X as the Combat Helicopters reappeared and circled them. Another one hit the Strike's torso and knocked it onto its back as the BuCues and helicopters surrounded them.

"Well, this is just great," Ryo grimaced, still in the same state as before, "Any ideas?"

"You've got me," Kira panted, also in the same state.

"Get them away from the Strike and X!" Murrue said aboard the Archangel, "Give them some cover fire!"

"It's too risky!" Natarle argued, "If we hit them, we'll drain their armor even further!" As Murrue contemplated a new plan and Ryo shifted the X Gundam to cover the vulnerable Strike, a missile suddenly streaked through the air and collided with a helicopter, destroying.

"What the hell was that?" Ryo wondered out loud and both he and Kira turned to see where it had come from while unbeknownst them, so did everyone else. Approaching from a distance was a small convoy of assault vehicles, each armed with either an anti-air turret or a missile pod in the back. If one looked closely, they would have seen that one of them contained a familiar blonde girl. While rockets soared past the Strike and X, the same vehicle pulled up to the Strike, which was now upright again, and the blonde girl fired a cable at its arm.

"Attention, pilot of this Mobile Suit," she said and Kira, who had returned to normal, was surprised to hear this, "If you want to live, then do exactly as I say and relay this message to your buddy." A map appeared on his main screen as she added, "Lure the BuCues to this point. There's a trap for them set up there."

"…Where have I seen that person before…?" Ryo wondered and frowned, still in the same state as before, as he looked at the vehicle.

"What is it?" Natarle asked on the bridge.

"It looks like…" Murrue frowned, "Resistance fighters?"

"Um, Commander?" the second man said, "Those guys are from the Desert Dawn, sir."

"Are they trying to save the Earth Forces Mobile Suits?" the first one frowned, "Let's see how this turns out." Meanwhile, Kira had explained the plan to Ryo and when he had agree, the two flew off to the designated point. Exactly as planned, the BuCues and Combat Helicopters gave chase and the blonde girl noticed this.

"Looks like they took the bait," her driver, the same boy from before, said with a grin.

"Well, the bait is pretty good," she replied, cocking her own smile as she watched the Strike and X fly through the air. At one point, Kira momentarily had the Strike land to entice the BuCues even further before taking off again. The resistance fighters split up and the blonde girl's vehicle stopped atop a sand dune as the Strike and X touched down. The Strike's monitor beeped to show that they were there and Kira turned to see the BuCues coming closer.

"We've got no choice but to trust them," he thought and ignited the Strike's thrusters as the X did the same, allowing the BuCues to pounce on nothing. As they flew back, though, Kira watched Ryo fly straight up and asked, "Ryo! Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about me," Ryo frowned, "I know what I'm doing."

"Perfect!" the blonde girl smiled and held up a small before flipping up the cover and pressing a button. Several mines detonated around the BuCues, causing the sand so cave in and dragged the machines down with it. Her smile widened as she pressed a second button, this time causing a massive fireball to burst from the hole, destroying the BuCues and the helicopters all at once. As the Archangel's crew looked on in awe while pieces of debris rained down on the sand, Strike landed and powered down, shutting off its Phase Shift Armor as Kira watched the column of smoke billow in the air.

"There's a message from Lieutenant Commander Flaga!" Miriallia announced, "He's found the enemy ship, but abandoned the attack. The enemy's ship is the 'Lesseps'. Repeat, the enemy's ship is 'Lesseps'. He's coming back now."

"Lesseps?"

"The flagship of Andrew Waltfield," Murrue replied darkly, "So, we escaped the Creuset Team only to come face to face with the 'Desert Tiger'…" Ryo heard this on his speakers and immediately contacted the bridge.

"Did Lieutenant Commander Flaga say exactly where the Lesseps was located?"

"I think so, but…"

"Good," Ryo said, "Send me the coordinates and I'll attack it from here."

"You can't be serious, Master Chief Mouri!" Natarle exclaimed while the rest of the crew looked at each other questioningly, "At such a range…"

"Don't worry about it," Ryo interrupted, "Just send me the coordinates and I'll take care of the rest."

"Captain…" Natarle said, "Should we trust him?"

"It can't hurt to try," Murrue replied, "After all, the Tiger may send reinforcements and we don't have time to recharge the batteries of the Strike and X."

"Alright," Natarle nodded, "Crewman Second Class Haw, transfer the coordinates of the Lesseps' location to the X." Miriallia complied and soon, the coordinates were uploaded into the X's combat computer.

"Thanks," Ryo said, "And one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Contact Lieutenant Commander Flaga," Ryo told them, "Tell them that he'd better get the hell out of the way." With that, he cut off the link and reached over before triggering the X's Satellite System. The Satellite Cannon deployed and extended to its full length while the wings opened into a full "X" as Ryo uploaded the coordinates of the Lesseps into the targeting computer. Just then, a bright stream of light fell from the moon and hit the X's green energy collector, causing it to glow brightly. Power began to flow through the Mobile Suit, dimly illuminating the bands on the forearms, shoulders, and lower legs while the wings started to glow a brilliant white. Everyone present stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sight, a bright light in the sky as if a star was forming hundreds of feet above them. "Four point three seconds until microwave," Ryo thought and looked up as the beam suddenly intensified and caused the glowing parts of the X to shine brighter.

"New contacts at two o'clock!" Chandra announced, "It's more BuCues!" Ryo saw the incoming Mobile Suits and adjusted the angle of the cannon. "This time, I won't miss!" he cried and pulled the trigger. A white river of destructive power erupted from the nozzle of the weapon, striking the unsuspecting BuCues and beginning to travel onward towards the Lesseps.

"That beam!" Kira thought as he watched, "The one that I saw…when Flay's father was shot down…is it the same one?"

"Contact the Lesseps!" the first man, now known as Andrew Waltfield himself, ordered his subordinate, Martin Dacosta, "Tell them to move now!" As the beam mowed through the sand, the Land Carrier received the message and hastily began to move to get out of the way.

"No you don't!" Ryo frowned and prepared to move the cannon, "You're not-agh!" At that exact moment, an intense pain seared through his chest and due to the sudden distraction, he let go of the control stick and the beam barely missed the Lesseps. "What…what the hell…?" he thought, clutching his chest as the pain slowly subsided, "That's never happened before…" A sudden beeping sound alerted him as his eyes suddenly reverted back to normal and he looked to see that his battery had now run out, which caused his Phase Shift Armor to deactivate by itself as the beam wore out as well as the X descended towards the ground. Ryo used the thrusters to slow its fall and it landed, its Satellite Cannon now folded over its back but its wings were still fully extended.

"We're retreating now," Waltfield said, turning, "We've completed the objective of this mission. Gather all surviving units and fall back to the Lesseps." As the desert team retreated, the Strike and X stood upon a cliff while the Archangel approached them. At their feet, the resistance fighters gathered and the blonde girl stepped out of her jeep and walked over to the Strike and frowned at it.

Phase 16: End


	18. Cagalli Returns

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 17- Cagalli Returns

_February 16_, _C.E. 71, Libya Desert_

Day broke as the resistance fighters drove towards the Archangel, which had landed beside the Strike and X. Several of them were looking up at the two Mobile Suits, both in standby position, in either admiration or curiosity. Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were looking down at the gathering group using their Mobile Suit's main cameras but Kira zoomed in on the blonde girl, noticing something familiar from her. Ryo, however, was looking out into the distance. The place where the Satellite Cannon's beam had hit the ground was marked by jagged spikes of glass. The glass stretched far across the sand, having been heated by an immense degree and then fused together by the heat from the beam of the weapon. Inside the Archangel's dock, the Skygrasper had landed and was being brought down to a suitable height. Once it was locked, the cockpit opened and Mu took off his helmet inside, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Well, what've we got?" he asked Murdoch as he climbed up to the cockpit, "I hear some resistance fighters showed up to help us out."

"That's what I heard too," Murdoch replied, "Had the Chiefs lure the BuCues to a giant landmine and blew them to pieces." On the bridge, Murrue and Natarle were busy assessing the situation.

"Is it safe to assume that they're on our side?" Natarle asked, looking at the view screen.

"They don't seem to be taking up hostile actions," Murrue replied, "I'll go and talk to them; they seem to want a word with us anyway. If this works out, they could be a great help to us. Take care of things here while I'm gone, alright?" With that, she got up and headed to the elevator, catching a glimpse of the worried expressions that the others wore on their faces before it closed, sighing as the elevator went down. When she reached the bottom, she saw Mu clicking the safety on his handgun off while a few other officers readied their assault rifles.

"Well now, looks like this could get kind of awkward," Mu said as she clicked the safety off of her own weapon and put it in her holster, "I'm not really good at this kind of stuff, you know." Murrue smiled at his words and then faced the door as it opened before walking outside with Mu close at hand.

"I'd just like to thank you for helping us," Murrue began, "I'm Lieutenant Commander Murrue Ramius of the Earth Forces' 8th Mobility Fleet. I'm the Captain of this ship."

"Didn't the 8th Fleet get completely wiped out in orbit?" the blonde girl's driver suddenly asked and Murrue frowned at the memory.

"We are the Desert Dawn," the leader said, holding up a hand to silence the boy, "And we'd also like to thank you for allowing us to meet with you. I am the leader of the Desert Dawn, Sahib Ashman." Murrue smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "However, your gratitude is unneeded," Sahib added, "You must understand that the reason we intervened was not necessarily to save you. We were only doing it to attack our enemies."

"So you've constantly been fighting the Desert Tiger, huh?" Mu asked and Sahib turned to him.

"I think I've seen your face somewhere before," he frowned thoughtfully, "You look awfully familiar."

"Lieutenant Commander Mu la Flaga," Mu smiled, "But I don't think that people that live all the way out here would know me."

"Well now, this is a surprise," Sahib laughed, "I never imagined that I would meet the Hawk of Endymion all the way out here in the desert of all places."

"It looks as if you know an awful lot about what's been going on," Murrue commented, "Perhaps about us as well?"

"The Earth Forces' new warship, the Archangel, was it?" Sahib began, "You guys fled from Heliopolis to Artemis and then went through the Debris Belt to reach Earth while being pursued by the Creuset Team." He turned and looked at the Strike and X, "And those are..."

"The X-105 Strike," the blonde girl suddenly interrupted, "The Earth Forces' new prototype Mobile Suit. But that other one…"

"Well then, I'm glad that we've come to know each other a little better," Sahib said, cutting the blonde off, "But in our situation, we were surprised to see that you guys landed here. Coming to a place like this was an accident, I'm sure, but I'd like to know just what you intend on doing from here onwards."

"Will you be able to assist us?" Murrue asked, "We'd greatly appreciate it."

"Ha! If you want to negotiate," Sahib laughed, "Then at least put your guns down first!" Even while the officers who had stayed behind blinked in disbelief, Sahib turned to the two Mobile Suits and added, "Those two pilots too. Have them come out as well."

"Alright then," Murrue sighed and then called out, "Master Chief Yamato and Mouri! Please come down!" The cockpits of the Strike and X opened and Kira and Ryo climbed out before grabbing onto the zip-chords near the hatch and slowly descended. Because of the glare from the sun, however, the others couldn't see their faces as they approached. After a bit, however, Ryo finally couldn't take it anymore and ripped his helmet off of his head.

"Agh! It's so damn hot in there!" he complained, shaking his head and then shielded his eyes from the sun, "Crap…the sun's brighter than I thought too…I hate this place already…"

"Ah, stop complaining," Kira sighed as he calmly removed his own helmet and then covered his eyes as well, "Oh, guess I have to agree with you on the bright part, though…"

"What the…those are the pilots?"

"They're just kids!" Numerous murmurs swept through the resistance party but the blonde girl had a different reaction. Her initial one was shock but it was quickly replaced by boiling anger and she clenched her fist before pushing past the others and heading towards the two pilots.

"So it is you," she said when she reached them, causing both Ryo and Kira to stop and look at her.

"Um…" Ryo blinked, his eyes had now adjusted to the light, "Do we…know you from somewhere?" As the crowd behind the girl exchanged puzzled looks, Flay watched from inside on a monitor and leaned closer for a better look while Tiffa did the same in another room. Sensing trouble, Mu reached up and put his hand on the grip of his pistol but another man moved in front of him, gripping the hilt of a knife. Mu saw this and backed down, smiling a bit as he straightened up.

"Why…why are you piloting those things?" the blonde suddenly screamed and threw her hand forward at Kira's face. Unfortunately for her, Kira's Coordinator instincts kicked in and he managed to grab her wrist to stop the blow. As she struggled against his hold, the two of them took a closer look at her face and then recognized her.

"Hey, I know this girl!" Ryo said, turning to Kira, "She's the one who you thought was a guy back at Morgenroete, remember?" Kira blushed slightly at the somewhat embarrassing memory, remembering how he had mistaken the blonde girl for a boy until her hat had flown off.

"Let…" she grunted, "Let go of me, you jerk!" With a surprising burst of strength, she managed to get out of Kira's grip and backhanded him in the face in the process.

"Whoa, hey! Cool it, you two!" Ryo said, getting between them and putting his hands up to separate them, "Let's not be rash here…" While the others watched the girl fume and Kira look at her in surprise, the man who had stopped Mu from drawing his gun earlier straightened up as well.

"Cagalli, come on!" he suddenly said and started to walk away.

"What was that all about?" Mu muttered to Murrue but quieted down when the man passed them.

"Cagalli…?" Ryo frowned thoughtfully, scratching his chin, "Why does that name sound so familiar…?" The blonde girl, now identified as Cagalli, blinked in surprise and Kira did as well as the others looked on, even the other man turned to look. After a bit of thought, Ryo snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Ah! I remember now! You're Cagalli Yula A-whoa!" He stepped back and quickly brought his hand up to catch a knife that had been heading at him blade-first. "What the hell?" he frowned and looked up, still holding the knife by its handle, at the man who had originally called out to Cagalli. Narrowing his eyes, he turned the knife over and held it by the blade and walked over to him before holding it up. "Hey, is this yours?" he demanded, waving the handle in the man's face, "I figured that it was, since you look like the kind of person who would carry this kind of thing around." The man said nothing but reached up and took the knife before placing it back in its sheath before turning again. "I guess so," Ryo huffed and turned away as well, crossing his arms across his chest.

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"Yzak and Dearka," Rau said, "I am very pleased to know that the two of you landed safely in Gibraltar. You both performed exceptionally well in the last battle." Currently, the two top guns were in front of a video monitor, with Dearka sitting down and Yzak standing behind them. The two had made landfall in Gibraltar, Spain, the previous day but even then, it had taken a while for them to establish communications with their Commander.

"Ah, it was nothing," Dearka grinned in his seat, "Sure, we almost died, but…"

"Regrettably, we were unable to fulfill the objective of destroying the Legged Ship and its two Mobile Suits," Rau continued, "I understand that you must be tired, but it may be best for you to remain on the surface for now. The Legged Ship will now become the main target of the units stationed on Earth, so I will need you two to stay down there for a while and continue tailing them." Even as the two frowned at this, Rau smirked and added, "Of course…should the opportunity present itself…feel free to attack them at will…" With that, he cut off the transmission and Dearka immediately smirked.

"He might as well have just said 'Please don't come back up to space'," he said and turned to Yzak, "Is he telling us to just crawl around with these guys until we find those bastards, huh?" Yzak gave him a cold glare with the eye that wasn't covered by bandages and Dearka's grin turned into a frown. Then, the fair-head reached up and started to undo the bandages on his face. "Hey, hold on a sec', Yzak," Dearka exclaimed, getting up, "You shouldn't…"

"Whenever I get the chance, huh?" Yzak snarled, ignoring the question as his eyes twitched and Dearka cringed at the apparent madness in his voice, "I'll rip him apart next time. No doubt about it…I'll kill that bastard here on his home turf!"

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Back in Libya, the Archangel was following the small convoy led by Sahib through a canyon that was just wide enough to fit the warship, even though its wings occasionally mowed over the occasional rock that stuck out too high as it passed by numerous gun turrets set up in the canyon walls. After a while, Sahib stopped his vehicle and got out, just a pair of resistance fighters came up to him.

"Sahib!" one of them said as he walked past them, "What the hell is going on?"

"Guests," he replied simply, not looking back at them, "Treat them well." The two blinked and looked back at the ship as it touched down and the other resistance fighters got out of their vehicles, including Cagalli. Later, Sahib led the Archangel's three senior officers through a storage area and the three of them looked around, amazed by the sight. Every room was dug into the canyon wall and had running electricity.

"Whoa," Mu whistled, impressed as he looked around at the crates, "There sure is a lot of stuff in here. You've got supplies from the Earth Forces _and_ ZAFT!" Back at the Archangel, Kira and Ryo were in the Strike and X to help pull camouflage nets over the ship to keep it steady.

"Alright, you two, go ahead."

"Copy that," Ryo nodded and moved the X Gundam back a bit as it stretched the net over one of the Gottfried compartments while Kira covered the other one in the Strike. Meanwhile, Sahib had the lead the senior officers to an intelligence center, where Mu spotted Cagalli looking over a status report. There was a map of the area on the far wall as well as on a table in the middle.

"Living in a place like this, huh?" he mused, taking a look around the room, "Must be a nightmare trying to keep it cool."

"This is only our frontline headquarters," Sahib replied, pouring something into a mug, "Everyone here has a home in the village." He paused as he took a sip and then added, "That is, if they don't get swept up in the flames…"

"Village?" Murrue asked, curious, "There are towns around here?"

"The people here are mostly from Tassil, Moula, and Banadiya," Sahib said, turning to face them, "The Desert Dawn is a group formed from the volunteers from the villages. Coffee?"

"Oh, yes, thank you," Murrue nodded, grateful for the offer.

"Help yourself to whatever, then," Sahib shrugged and went over to the map table, the others following him.

"I really have to thank you for helping us conceal the Archangel," Murrue said. Sahib started to take another sip from his cup but then looked at Cagalli, who also glanced at him, and frowned when he remembered something she had asked of him earlier.

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"_Sahib, I want to know what they're up to too," Cagalli said as she passed by him, "But tell me when no one else is around. If they really are who they say they are, then there shouldn't be any trouble letting them into our camp."_

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"What about her, then?" Mu suddenly asked, "What's her story?" Sahib looked at him oddly and Mu jerked his head over at Cagalli to indicate who he was talking about.

"…She's our Goddess of Victory," Sahib replied hesitantly.

"So her name is…" Mu said and Sahib glanced at him suspiciously before he added with a shrug, "Well, it wouldn't really be right if we passed through not knowing a goddess' name."

"Her name is Cagalli Yula," he replied and then spread a new map out on the table as Mu glanced back at the blonde, "So, you people are heading to Alaska…" Later outside, Kira and Ryo stood next to their now inactive Gundams; Ryo sitting on a rock and Kira standing up.

"Hey, nice work, you two," Sai nodded as he passed by the two, carrying a coil of rope over each shoulder.

"Ah, thanks, Sai," Kira smiled and then pushed some hair out of his face as a breeze came up. Just then, Ryo glanced down and saw Cagalli coming up to them, momentarily glancing at Sai he passed before looking forward again. He also noticed that she was no longer wearing the Kevlar vest that she usually wore, exposing her red t-shirt. Both Coordinators blinked as Cagalli came to a stop in front of them, looking troubled about something.

"Um," Ryo said, "You're not gonna attack him again, are you?"

"No," Cagalli replied irritably, glaring at him, "I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I didn't really mean to hit him…"

"I dunno," Ryo grinned slyly, cocking an eyebrow, "Last time I checked, you looked pretty damn determined to take his face off."

"Okay, so maybe I did mean to hit him," she said and Ryo could have sworn he caught a blush on her cheeks, "But it was just a spur of the moment thing, you know. Anyway, I'm sorry, alright? And…I guess I should apologize for that other guy too; that whole knife thing, anyway." The two blinked and looked at each other before Ryo burst out laughing and Kira chuckled as well. "Hey, what's so funny?" Cagalli frowned, her temper on the verge of flaring.

"Ah, it's all good," Ryo smiled as Kira sat down as well, "I guess it was kind of awkward seeing each other again. You probably just hit him to make sure he was real!" Cagalli laughed a bit at the joke and then her expression softened.

"You two have been on my mind a lot," she admitted, "I was worried I guess, wondering just what might have happened to the two of you after that incident at Heliopolis." Ryo nodded and Kira looked at his feet. "And then you both show up out of no where piloting those things," Cagalli added and the two looked to see that she was now looking at the Strike and X, "And on top of that, you're both with the Earth Forces now?"

"We didn't have much of a choice," Ryo muttered and Cagalli caught this.

"No choice?" she frowned, "You two go around piloting Mobile Suits and waging war all because you didn't have a choice?"

"Please understand," Kira suddenly sighed, "That a lot of things have happened that altered our decisions. Many things." Ryo heaved his own sigh and Cagalli averted her glance a bit before Kira added, "So anyway, what's someone like you doing in a place like this? I always assumed that you were from ORB or something. Do you live here?"

"Well…" Cagalli said and shifted uncomfortably, "Not exactly."

"Ah, whatever," Ryo said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner, "Why don't you sit down? It's more comfortable than standing up anyway; way more convenient for conversations." As Cagalli smiled a bit and sat down, the same man who had thrown the knife at Ryo watched, frowning a bit. Back at the headquarters, Sahib and the Archangel's three senior officers looked over a map of the area.

"Although ZAFT has the advantage in space, they don't really have much military strength down here because of the terrain," Sahib said, moving his mug in a circle around a part of the map, "But lately, their morale has been unusually high. Perhaps it's because of the fall of their victory at the Second Battle of Victoria about two days ago."

"Victoria has been lost?" Natarle asked, startled.

"And only two days ago…" Murrue frowned.

"Well now," Mu sighed, "This is a real problem." And he was right. Victoria had been the sight of the Habilis Mass-Driver, which had been used to transport supplies into space. Now that it had fallen to ZAFT, the Earth Forces had lost two of its spaceports and now only had Panama and the Porta Panama Mass-Driver to use.

"The members of the African Community are friendly to ZAFT," Sahib told them, "And the South African Union was eventually completely discarded from the Earth Forces. The situations on the battle field are changing day by day.

"And yet you guys still fight with everything you have despite the odds," Mu commented but Sahib just took a gulp from his mug.

"To us, the Earth Forces and ZAFT are no different from each other," he said when he lowered it, "Both sides only come to take control and steal from us." There was a bit of a silence before he asked, "How does that ship fare in Earth's atmosphere?"

"Our maximum altitude isn't very high because of the gravity," Natarle replied and Sahib looked back at the map.

"Well, if you can't go over the mountains," he said, "Then you'll have to cut right through Gibraltar instead."

"With our current battle strength?" Mu asked, cocking an eyebrow, "Going through an area like that would be suicide."

"Hmm, then you've got no other choice but to come out through the Red Sea and then out into the Pacific via the Indian Ocean," Sahib replied, pointing at another spot.

"The Pacific?" Murrue blinked, "But that's…"

"We won't be able to get very far with our current amount of supplies," Natarle frowned.

"The forces surrounding the Pacific are mostly loyal to ZAFT," Mu pointed out, "But I wonder if there are still any neutral coalitions out there?"

"Hey now, getting worried about the voyage already?" Sahib mused and then pointed at the map, "Here. In Banadiya, that's where the Lesseps is located."

"Ah," Mu said, "So when you said 'come out of', you meant this?" Murrue sighed and looked back down at the map.

"There's no way you can get out of Libya without defeating the Tiger," Sahib replied, "We don't usually help outsiders but if you're fighting the same enemy, then we'll be willing to cooperate with you."

"Another way to see it is that you're just using us to beat the Tiger," Mu smiled, "What if we refuse?"

"Then we shall treat you no different from the Tiger; as our enemy," Sahib said as he turned, "And destroy you without hesitation."

"Well," Mu shrugged as Sahib left, "You heard him."

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"It's Dacosta, sir," Dacosta said, knocking on the door, "I'm coming in now." The door hissed opened and Dacosta walked in to find his superior officer leaning over a beaker of coffee placed over a Bunsen burner, intently stirring the contents while several bags of varying coffee mix sat on the desk. He then noticed that the room smelled odd and frowned as he covered his nose and pointed out, "Um, Commander, you really need consider to ventilating this room."

"Is that all you came to tell me?" Waltfield asked, taking the beaker off of the flame and poured the contents into a mug.

"No, that's not it," Dacosta sighed, "The preparations are complete for the next mission, sir. Also, the status reports from last night are in."

"Alright, let me see," Waltfield nodded and took the report from his subordinate.

"According to the recordings, sir," Dacosta said, "The weapon that the unidentified Mobile Suit used last night was powered by some kind of microwave laser that was apparently beamed down from somewhere in the direction of the moon. We're thinking that it was sent from the moon itself and that the Earth Forces have some kind of secondary base there that is specifically for sending these beams to power the weapon."

"Well, you'd never know. I'm not much of a space expert," Waltfield shrugged, "Alright then, I didn't want to retaliate so harshly, but…oh well, I guess it can't be helped." With that, he took a sip of the coffee in his mug and savored the taste a bit before smiling, "Hmm, this is pretty good. I used the mild kind this time and it's still pretty tasty." Dacosta blinked and then sighed; he had never really gotten used to the eccentric ways of his superior.

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"Of all the places we could have landed," Sai sighed that evening as the resistance fighters went to get their meal, "Who would have thought that we'd end up in the base of a resistance group? Our progress sure has been heading in a weird direction these days."

"Yeah," Kuzzey nodded, "The desert of all places…if I knew this was gonna happen, then I shouldn't have enlisted."

"But if you had gotten on the shuttle," Tolle replied, "Then you'd be dead."

"I'm kind of worried," Miriallia sighed, "What's gonna happen to us from now on?" Tolle sighed and put his arm around her shoulders, letting her rest her head on his own as Tiffa shifted uncomfortably. Just then, she looked up and the others did as well to see Flay walking in their direction, looking around as if searching for something.

"Have any of you seen Kira?" she asked, "I can't find him anywhere." Sai frowned a bit and went up to her, intent on speaking his mind now. Meanwhile, far off in another part of the desert, the Waltfield team had assembled and was being briefed on their mission.

"We will commence our attack on the resistance's supply stronghold," Waltfield said, "The horseplay went a bit far last night; there's no better way to discipline a bad kid than to give him a good spanking."

"Our target is the village of Tassil!" Dacosta told them, "All hands, board your units!" While the Waltfield team began their scheme, night had fallen and the Desert Dawn had set up campfires within the canyon. At Sahib's fire, the Archangel's three senior officers sat with him and Murrue sighed, contemplating what had been discussed earlier and Mu looked at her. In the dock, Kira and Ryo were both sitting inside the cockpits of the Strike and X again. By now, Ryo had finished working and climbed out of his.

"I'm done for tonight," he told Kira, stretching a little, "I'll be getting a bite to eat outside. You coming?"

"Later," Kira replied, "I've still got a lot to do." Ryo shrugged and left just as Murdoch came up and poked his head into the Strike's cockpit.

"Hey, kid," he said, "What're you up to this time?"

"I changed the pressure settings from yesterdays battle," Kira answered, lifting up the monitor, "I'm trying to get it just right since I had to change it in hurry last night."

"Nice," Murdoch nodded approvingly, "You're quite the convenient pilot. You've got some morale, Master Chief Yamato." As he laughed and left, Kira frowned as he went back to his work.

"If I don't finish this, then I won't be able to do anything," he thought, typing commands into the O.S., "I need to be at my best…I need to be stronger so that the Archangel doesn't…" As he worked, Cagalli was walking around the campsite, looking around for something like Flay had done earlier.

"Hey, Cagalli!" her driver called out from his spot and held up a can of rations, "What're you doing? You have some too."

"Oh, yeah," Cagalli nodded and then looked around the small group around the fire and asked, "Hey, um, have you seen one of the Earth Forces' Mobile Suit pilots anywhere? The one with brown hair?"

"I think I saw him go that way," Ahmed replied, pointing farther down the camp, "Why? Is there any reason for you to see them?"

"Well, it's just that…" Cagalli replied, "I never really got the chance to ask for their names."

"Eh? But I thought you knew them already," the boy said.

"Oh, right," she blinked, "I should know their names if I'm familiar with them already…"

"Cagalli," someone said next to her and she turned to see the same man who had called out to her earlier that morning. He jerked his head to the side and Cagalli sighed before turning back to the others.

"Ah, sorry, Ahmed," she apologized quickly and hurried off after the man. Ahmed looked after her and shrugged before taking a bite out of his rations.

"You need to be more careful," the man said to Cagalli when they had reached a spot where no one else was, "You might accidentally reveal who you really are."

"I know," she sighed, "I'm sorry."

"You're the kind of person who fits in anywhere," he told her, "Just don't get careless in the future."

"Whatever," Cagalli frowned and walked off, leaving the man to chuckle to himself in amusement. Meanwhile, Cagalli went to where Ahmed had pointed to earlier and saw the person she was looking for sitting on a ledge. "Hey, you," she called out as she got closer and the pilot turned to reveal that it was the wrong pilot; this one had black hair. "Oh, I'm sorry," she stuttered, "I was looking for the other pilot, but…"

"It's alright," he smiled and turned to the moon, "I've been told that the two of us look very much alike, so I understand if you mistook me for him."

"Oh, I guess so," Cagalli nodded and then asked, "But while I'm at it, I might as well ask for your name."

"Ryo Mouri," he replied, "Master Chief Petty Officer of the Archangel."

"Mouri?" she blinked, "That sounds familiar."

"Well, I get that a lot too," Ryo smiled, "I guess my dad knew a lot of people."

"Knew?" Cagalli asked, "What…"

"It's…not something I like to talk about," Ryo interrupted, averting his gaze to the ground "Let's just say that my dad used to be the representative for Junius City before…" At this, Cagalli realized what he was talking about and her expression softened.

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry…"

"It's nothing," he replied with a somewhat forced smile, "I've…" At that moment, a sudden gust of wind sprang up and Ryo looked in the direction it was coming from, an odd chill running down his spine as if to warn him of something. "What's over there?" he asked suddenly, pointing in the direction he was looking at.

"I'm not sure," Cagalli frowned, "I think Tassil or one of the other villages. Why?"

"That wind," Ryo said, standing up, "There was something ominous about it…" Meanwhile, in the direction the two were looking in, three BuCues lay in wait on a ledge above the town of Tassil.

"It's about the time that the people down there go to sleep," Dacosta said, setting down his binoculars.

"I'll have them sleep forever with this," Waltfield smirked and then laughed before adding as he looked at his subordinate, "That's not really something I would say, huh?" Turning back to the village, he said, "Notify the others. We'll begin the attack in fifteen minutes. Go on." Dacosta nodded and saluted before going off in another vehicle and driving off towards Tassil. Back at the Archangel, Ryo and Cagalli had gone over to the ship to look for Kira when all of a sudden, the two heard a commotion up ahead and stopped to listen.

"Hold on a second, Flay!" someone exclaimed in a frustrated tone and Ryo recognized it as Sai's, "I can't understand anything if you're like this!"

"Shut up!" the said red-head shot back as she appeared from behind the rock that was concealing them, "Just leave me alone!" She then noticed the two standing there, looking at her oddly, and frowned at them before going off.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Sai asked in an exasperated tone as he too appeared. Like Flay, he stopped to look at Ryo and Cagalli; the former looked at him questioningly and pointed in the direction Flay was going. "Long story," he sighed and went after her, "Flay, wait!"

"That was…" Cagalli blinked as they watched him go, "…really weird."

"No kidding," Ryo nodded and then a small grin crossed his face as he added, "Let's follow them and see what happens next." With that, he started after Sai and Cagalli followed a moment later. At this time, Kira had finished working and headed outside to get some air, while Flay just happened to come upon the door.

"Kira!" she called out happily and rushed over to him before grabbing onto his arm and swinging around so that she was behind him just as Sai came up. Meanwhile, Ryo and Cagalli had snuck up behind a wall of rock and were hiding behind it to watch.

"What?" Kira asked Sai, somewhat confused.

"I need to talk to Flay about something," Sai answered, "It doesn't concern you, Kira."

"What do you mean it doesn't concern him?" Flay said angrily, "If you really must know…" She faltered a bit and the two looked at her quizzically while Ryo and Cagalli listened closer, "I slept with Kira last night, okay!" Sai reeled in shock while Cagalli drew back, blushing.

"Ugh," Ryo groaned and smacked his forehead with his palm, "Did she have to shout that?" As this was happening, one of the three BuCues near Tassil fired three missiles from the pod on its back into the town, setting off numerous explosions. In seconds, the inhabitants were in a mad state of panic as the villagers fled their homes. More rounds followed and soon, the flames had spread throughout the entire village. Support beams in houses crashed against each other as they collapsed and the cries of frightened women and children mingled with the shouts of men as they led their families from the fire. A little distance away, the Desert Tiger stood on a ledge and watched as the smoke from the fires rose to the sky while the BuCues advanced upon the village, explosions flaring up in their wake. Meanwhile, Sai was slowly recovering from the shock from Flay's words when suddenly, Kira looked down at his feet.

"Eh? Kira?" he asked and looked back and forth between the two, "What the hell really happened, Flay? You…"

"So what if it's like this?" Flay replied bitterly, "This has nothing to do with you!"

"That's enough, Sai," Kira suddenly said.

"Kira?"

"From the way I see it, this just looks like you're constantly following Flay," Kira said in a somewhat cold tone.

"What was that?" Sai frowned but before the two eavesdroppers could hear what happened next, Ryo felt his chest throb painfully again and doubled over with a small grunt.

"What's the matter?" Cagalli asked, turning to him, "You okay?"

"I dunno," Ryo said a bit shakily as he straightened up, his hand over where his heart was, "I heard…I heard people screaming in my mind…and then my chest started to hurt for some reason…"

"I'm still a little tired from last night's battle," they heard Kira say as he put his arm around Flay's shoulders and started to lead her into the ship, "Why don't you give it a rest.?" At this, Sai's temper peaked and as Ryo and Cagalli looked from their hiding spot, he ran at the two.

"Kira!" he shouted and reached out to grab him but Kira's Coordinator instincts kicked in and immediately spun around before twisting Sai's arm around his back.

"Don't even try!" Kira said, now just about as angry as Sai, "When I'm this focused, you're no match for me when it comes to strength!"

"Kira, stop this!" Ryo suddenly shouted and stumbled out of his hiding spot, still a bit weak from the pain, "Let go of Sai!" Surprised, Kira looked up and released his hold on Sai, causing the latter to tumble to the ground. "Have you completely lost it?" Ryo asked and then clutched his chest again as it throbbed again, "What's gotten into you? Sai's our friend, remember?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Kira replied and this irritated Ryo even more.

"Shut the hell up! You're the one who's confused!" Ryo snapped and pointed at him accusingly, "Can't you see that we can barely even recognize you anymore? The Kira that we know never rushed into a fight with as much enthusiasm as you did last night! And the Kira that we know would never turn on his friends like that!"

"Ryo…"

"I told you that Flay was no good," Ryo said darkly, "Haven't you noticed that you've been acting like this ever since you got close to her?"

"Shut up! Don't talk about Flay like that!" Kira suddenly snapped, "She's not the kind of person who you think she is!"

"So what was that about her sleeping with you, huh?" Ryo frowned, "Tell me, Kira, what kind of crap did she put into your head while you were in bed, huh?"

"You've got it all wrong," Kira replied and turned away, "Flay…was so kind to me. She said that she'd always be by my side and protect me…" He turned back around and the others could see tears in his eyes, "No one else thought about what I was going through when I was out there fighting! Only Flay! She's the only one who understands me!"

"You ignorant dumb-ass! How blind are you?" Ryo fumed, "You think you're the only person who goes out to fight whenever the Archangel gets attacked? You think you're the only one who suffers? Just look around you! Look what kind of conditions these people have to fight in! And what about the others? Don't you remember our first space battle? They volunteered for jobs on the bridge because they didn't want us to bear the whole burden! And one last thing, Kira; whatever you're going through, I'll bet that I've got it twice as bad!"

"What do you know?" Kira asked, "We've been through the same things together…"

"I had to watch everything that I knew disappear before my eyes!" Ryo shouted, his own eyes threatening to shed tears as well, "I've been in this war a lot longer than you have, Kira! Don't tell me that I don't know how it's like to have to fight my own kind! At least you have someone to go and cry to!" As soon as he said this, Kira suddenly remembered everything that had happened before. He remembered just what Ryo had been through before and his expression softened as his words sank in.

"Ryo…" Just then, a shrill whistle sounded through the night and everyone looked in the direction of the sound. Back at the camp, Sahib pulled out a small radio and turned it on.

"What is it?" he asked as the others watched in alarm.

"The sky is on fire!" the scout on the other end replied, "It's over Tassil!" At this, Sahib immediately got up as the rest of the resistance fighters scurried around the camp, grabbing equipment and weapons. Meanwhile, Cagalli hurried back to the camp while Ryo rushed inside to get to the locker room while Kira and Flay stared at the distant inferno that was Tassil.

Phase 17: End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- It's important to know that the Satellite Cannon can only be used when the moon is visible, similar to the concept in AWGX. If the weapon could be used in the day, then that would mean that Ryo would be able to use it at any time he wants, which wouldn't really be fair as it would overshadow the other Mobile Suits. The only exception to this is if the Gundam X is in space, then it is possible to use it whenever.

Warp Ligia Obscura- The Airmaster and Leopard, along with their variants, will not be making cameo appearances.

Ultimate Coordinator Berserker- I understand your concerns and appreciate the fact that you prefer to stay true to the series. However, rewrite or not, this is my own original take on the story and in this case, I am allowed to make whatever changes I feel necessary. If these kinds of stories were completely centered around Kira, than it might as well just be the series in a written format. Therefore, most rewrites with original characters often have a new main protagonist, usually one of the OCs. Again, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read my story and I take no offense from your criticism, but I would like to ask that you keep your reviews (or flames) clean, as some of the people reading this may be of the younger audience.


	19. Payback

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 18- Payback

_February 16_, _C.E. 71, Tassil, Libya Desert_

Even as the Desert Dawn rushed to prepare for battle, the flames still raged on in Tassil. All three BuCues were now standing in the midst of the chaos, watching the civilians flee. Just then, one of them was peppered by machine gun fire and looked down to see three men firing at it. Lazily, its pilot lifted up one of its legs and the gunners ran as the foot slammed down on where they used to be. Another bent down a bit before launching another salvo of missiles into a warehouse. As this was happening, the villagers had taken shelter near the caves in the cliff nearby, still in great panic and confusion.

"Search the cliff sides!" Waltfield ordered over the radio, "They should have food, ammunition, or fuel hidden away in the caves. Burn all of it." Upon receiving the order, the three BuCues turned and headed for the cliffs, instilling great fear into the people in front of them.

"We're going to burn everything in the caves!" one of the pilots shouted at them, "If you value you lives, then hurry up and get out of the way! We'll give you two minutes to get to safety!" Hearing this, the civilians fled in terror and once they were out of the way, the BuCues began to fire missiles into the caves, destroying everything that was inside them. Back in the canyon, preparations for departure were almost complete for the Desert Dawn.

"Shit! The communications are still down!" one of the intelligence officers swore as he tried to contact the village.

"Hurry! Hurry up with the ammunition!"

"Dammit, my mother's lying sick in bed!"

"There's no doubt about it, right?"

"Hurry up! Get on!" By now, several vehicles were mobilizing as Kira, Sai, and Flay hurried out to see what was happening.

"Sahib!" Cagalli called out as he was issuing orders.

"I need half of you to stay back here!" Sahib said, "Stay calm, it could just be a detached force!"

"What do you think?" Murrue asked Mu as several resistance fighters hurried past them.

"Well, it's said that the Desert Tiger isn't one who's militarily cruel," Mu said thoughtfully, "But then again, it's not like I really know the guy? So what should we do? Should we go as well?"

"It's best if the Archangel didn't move from its current location, it really could just be a detached force," Murrue replied, glancing at the vehicles, "Lieutenant Commander, will you go?"

"Me?" Mu asked, surprised.

"Well," Murrue smiled, "The Skygrasper is the fastest craft we have on the ship, isn't it?"

"That's true," Mu laughed, "Well then, I'll be back shortly."

"All you have to do is help the civilians out of there!" Murrue called out, "I'll send Natarle and a few others later!" Mu acknowledged this with a wave of his hand as he headed back to the ship.

"Take care of things here!" Sahib shouted over his shoulder before his vehicle and two others drove off. A moment later, Cagalli came running out of a cave carrying a rocket launcher and a bag of ammunition. Just as she was about to go after them on foot, a fourth vehicle pulled up and stopped in front of her.

"Get on, Cagalli!" Ahmed called out from the driver's seat, "We don't want to fall behind!"

"Thanks, Ahmed!" she replied and got into the passenger seat. Just as she did, the man she was talking to earlier ran up with four launchers under one arm and a crate under the other, and a heavy knapsack before jumping into the back, the weight of his cargo causing the vehicle to sink and sway from the momentum of his jump. As the crew of the Archangel looked at each other quizzically, Murrue's voice suddenly rang out to them.

"All hands, return to the ship immediately!" she called out, "We're assuming Level Two Battle Stations!" As the crewmembers hurried back to the ship, Kira gave Flay's shoulder a quick squeeze and hurried off as well.

"Kira!" Flay exclaimed and went after him but Sai quickly stopped her. This earned him a dirty look from her before she twisted away from him and ran off.

"Idiot…" Sai grumbled before heading back to the ship. Meanwhile, Kira had leaped the steps and hurried to the locker room but just as he was about to enter, the door opened and he ran headlong into Ryo, who was already in his pilot suit. Normally, it would have just ended there but Kira had been running so fast and Ryo had been so surprised that the momentum of the impact carried both to the floor.

"Tsch, real smooth, block-head," Ryo grumbled from beneath Kira.

"Sorry, I was in a rush," Kira replied sheepishly, now a bit less focused.

"Whatever," Ryo said, "Get your elbow out of my back." Kira hastily got up and Ryo stood as well and the two looked inside the locker room to see a laughing Mu. "Ah shut up, sir," Ryo scowled and dusted himself off, "Anyway, I'll see you guys later in the dock."

"Hey, Ryo," Kira said as he started to walk off.

"Yeah? What?"

"Look, about earlier," Kira sighed, "I'm sorry about that." Ryo was silent for a moment and then a small grin tugged at the edge of his lips.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, walking away, "I guess we both needed to just let off some steam again." Meanwhile, the small convoy of five jeeps and four assault vehicles was nearing the burning village. When it came in view, however, the resistance fighter's expression turned from anxiety to shock when they saw the damage. The entire town had been engulfed in flames and they could just barely make out the outlines of the buildings. Back at the Archangel, its port catapult opened and the Skygrasper taxied onto the runway as the air lock shut behind it. Inside, Mu sealed the visor on his helmet as the emergency net extended up behind him.

"Mu la Flaga, Skygrasper, taking off!" he announced and when the course was clear, he stepped on the accelerator and launched.

"We'll be going then, Captain," Natarle said as she contacted the bridge.

"Alright, please take care of things over there," Murrue nodded, "Send me a status report later. It could just be a trap, so please be careful."

"Ma'am," Natarle saluted and then turned to the others, "Alright, let's go!" Moments later, two jeeps sped out from the Archangel's cargo bay. In the dock, the Strike and X stood on standby but Ryo already had other ideas and contacted the bridge.

"Captain!" he said, "Please let me go as well!"

"Master Chief Mouri?" Murrue blinked, "What do you mean?"

"If this is indeed a trap, then they'll need support!" Ryo explained, "A convoy of nine and one Skygrasper can't beat three BuCues, even if the Skygrasper has the Hawk of Endymion at the controls!"

"But if you go out, then you won't have time to charge your battery if you enter combat!" Murrue argued, "And the X can't travel so far in the gravity!"

"The Mobile Armor mode should be able to give off the equivalent thrust output to the Skygrasper," Ryo replied, "And I won't need the Phase Shift Armor until I enter combat, so I don't need to worry about losing power on the fly."

"But…"

"Captain, please!" Ryo said, "Those guys can't do it alone! At least allow me to go and help out with the evacuation!"

"Very well, I guess there's no stopping you," Murrue sighed, "Prepare the X for launch!"

"X, proceed to linear catapult," Miriallia said, "APU online. Systems all green; course clear! You may launch, X!"

"Ryo Mouri, X Gundam, launching!" Meanwhile, back at Tassil, Waltfield was watching the town burn from his jeep with a mellow expression on his face.

"Commander!" Dacosta called out as he came running back up the ledge.

"Is it over, then?" Waltfield asked, "Any casualties on either sides?"

"Of course not," Dacosta replied, climbing into the jeep, "This isn't actual combat."

"I meant both sides."

"Oh, well, there might be some villagers who tripped fell or got burned a little," Dacosta said, looking back at the town, "But I think it's safe to assume that no one was killed in the attack."

"Alright then, we're withdrawing," Waltfield nodded and sat down, "If we stay around any longer, their husbands will come to save them."

"But sir," Dacosta asked, "Didn't we attack so that they would come out?"

"Hey, hey, I'm not that cheap," Waltfield exclaimed, looking at Dacosta oddly, "I didn't torch the place to lure them out."

"Ah…" Dacosta blinked, "But…"

"We've accomplished the objective here," the Commander said with a satisfied grin, "We're withdrawing." While this was going on, the convoy had almost reached the village and the light from the flames was beginning to illuminate the vehicles and their passengers.

"The village," Cagalli stared, the fires reflecting in her amber eyes, "What have they…"

"What about the villagers?" Ahmed wondered out loud, "Did they make it out?" Just then, a loud roar overhead caught their attention and everyone looked up to see the Skygrasper fly over head, followed shortly by the transformed X.

"Hey, kid," Mu said from the Skygrasper, "I didn't know you were coming too."

"It's just a precaution," Ryo replied as he looked around on the monitors, "Just in case the BuCues are still here." The two crafts flew over the burning village, their pilots glancing down at the flames and trying to see through them. "I can't see anything that's not burning," Ryo said a few minutes later, "Do you think it was total annihilation?"

"Let's hope not," Mu answered but then something in the corner of his eye caught his attention, "Look, down there!" Immediately, he banked right and then started to circle above a large group of people huddled about half a mile from the flames.

"Alright, I'll go and see to them," Ryo told him and steered the X towards the civilians before switching back to Mobile Suit mode and landing in a kneeling position. Once he had shut down the battery, he opened the cockpit and used the zip-cable to descend onto the ground. Taking off his helmet, he approached the crowd, causing some of them to back away. "Please don't be alarmed," he said and then tugged on his sleeve to show them the O.M.N.I emblem on his left upper arm, "See? I'm not ZAFT. I'm Master Chief Petty Officer Ryo Mouri, a Mobile Suit pilot of the Earth Forces' new warship the Archangel. Currently, my superior officers have allied themselves with the leader of the Desert Dawn, Sahib Ashman. I was sent here as a safety precaution should an ambush party be waiting here." This seemed to calm them down a bit as Ryo asked, "Can I please talk to your leader?" Several people parted a path and Ryo nodded his thanks before walking through them. Meanwhile, Mu had contacted the Archangel to report his find.

"This is Flaga," he said, "Master Chief Mouri and I have located survivors near the village. The Chief's talking with them right now." While the bridge crew expressed their surprise, he added, "That's not all. It looks like a majority of them are unharmed, there doesn't seem to be too many wounded. What happened, though, I wonder…"

"What about the enemy forces?" Murrue asked, "Are they…"

"Negative, Captain," Mu said, "From the looks of it, they've already withdrawn." Later, when Mu had landed as well, Ryo was conversing with the village elder.

"The Desert Dawn," the elder asked, "Are they safe?"

"Don't worry about them, they're a tough group of guys," Ryo smiled and then remembered Cagalli before adding, "And one girl. Regardless, though, I think they should be arriving any second now…" At his words, the screeching of tires could be heard as the convoy arrived and shouts arose from both sides. "Ah, right on schedule," Ryo nodded as he watched the women rush from the crowds to their husbands. Joyful and sorrowful cries filled the air while Mu and Ryo watched from their points of view until two more vehicles pulled up next to the Skygrasper.

"Lieutenant Commander!" Natarle called out, "What's the situation?"

"Anyone is able to help, do what you can!" Sahib shouted into the crowd, "Bring all the wounded people here!" Just then, the elder started to stand up from the crate he was sitting on and Ryo helped him up before a younger boy came up to take over.

"Sahib!" the elder said and Sahib stopped walking and turned to face him. Ryo stepped away so that he wouldn't get into the way of the conversation while Cagalli looked around Sahib.

"Yaru! Elder!" she exclaimed and the face of the boy supporting the elder lit up.

"Dad!" he smiled, "Cagalli!"

"I'm glad you're safe, Yaru," Sahib nodded, "What about your father and Meryl?"

"Old man Shamselin fell while he was running, so she's taking care of him," Yaru replied.

"Hmm, I see," Sahib smiled and ruffled up his son's hair before asking the elder with a stern face, "How many died?"

"…Nobody died," the elder said and the others expressed their surprise as Mu and Natarle walked up, "They issued a warning. 'We're burning down the village, so run away,' they said."

"What?" Sahib exclaimed as the elder sat back down and sighed while Mu and Natarle looked at each other quizzically.

"And then, everything burned," the elder finished, "Food, ammunition, fuel…everything. There's definitely no one who died, but…we may not be able to live like this much longer." At this, Sahib clenched his fist angrily and Yaru saw this before looking up at his father. Ryo frowned and crossed his arms over his chest while the man seethed.

"How dare they toy with the lives of innocent people like this!" Sahib growled, "What are you thinking, you blasted Tiger!"

"But there's a solution," Mu suddenly said, "As long as you continue to live." As everyone looked at him, confused, he explained, "To me, it honestly doesn't look like the Tiger wants to fight you guys."

"What are you saying?" Sahib frowned.

"This attack was probably payback for that incident last night," Mu said, "If he's satisfied with just this, then he's got quite the sympathy, that Tiger."

"What? The whole village just burned down and all you can say is 'just this'?" Cagalli fumed and marched up to him, "How can you say he sympathy when he does something like that?"

"Well, excuse me," Mu smiled, putting his hands up, "If I offended you, then I apologize. But the Waltfield Team is a real army. If you keep fighting them, then you know full well that it won't end with just this, right?"

"He's nothing but a coward!" Cagalli snapped, "He thinks that just by burning down a village we weren't even in, he's won! We've always fought with everything that we had; we even took out the BuCues the last time! That's why the only thing that cowardly bastard can do is this! Desert Tiger my ass!"

"You shouldn't underestimate him like that," someone else suddenly said and they all turned to see Ryo standing calmly near the elder, "That's one of the biggest mistakes that you can make."

"What do you know?" Cagalli frowned, "Attacking a civilian town…only a coward would do that!"

"If you provoke a tiger, then the tiger will bite you," Ryo replied, "Think of this as a bite to the arm or leg. Be grateful that it wasn't to the neck."

"What are you saying?" Sahib asked, now confused.

"If he had wanted to, the Tiger could have just launched a full out assault and burned down everything with these people still in the village," Ryo said, gesturing around him, "But he instead chose to spare them and only attack the village and other places where supplies could have been hidden. That's showing sympathy if you ask me."

"That's now sympathy!" Cagalli shouted, "It's cowardice, that's what it is!"

"Listen, I know the full extent of Waltfield's abilities and believe me, he's no coward," Ryo frowned, "He only attacks people who aren't his real enemies when they attack him but when he attacks, he shows no compassion for his enemies. Burning down a village is the most minor thing that he can do. However, I know that he's an honorable fighter and many people know him to be very friendly to people if they're not his enemies."

"How can you say that when he just burned down a village and left its people to starve!" Cagalli fumed, "That's not exactly friendly if you ask me!"

"So you're saying that losing your home is a worse fate than death?" Ryo asked, "Look around you! They may be homeless, but these people are all still alive. Regardless of their status, if they're living, then that's all that matters. Surely you would know that."

"But the village…"

"As long as the people live, there will always be another chance," Ryo said simply, "They can always build it again and start over. It may not be easy, but at least they have the opportunity, right? Where there is a will, there is a way. But the question is, do you have the will to move on?" There was a brief silence and then Ryo turned and started to walk away.

"Hey, where are you off to?" Mu asked.

"It's supplies they need, isn't it?" Ryo replied and the asked the elder, "Where's the direction of Moula?"

"I think off to the west," the elder said, "But why?"

"I'll be back before dawn," Ryo answered and climbed up into the X's cockpit after putting his helmet back on, "You guys get some rest." With that, he closed the hatch and turned on the OS before having the X stand up. With a loud roar, its wings split apart and it took off into the air before transforming into Mobile Armor mode and flying off westward.

"What's he planning to do?" Mu asked and Natarle shrugged as they watched the light of the thrusters disappear over the horizon. He then looked back down and cringed when he saw that there was a small fire behind Cagalli's amber eyes. "Ah…well…he really is a bastard, isn't he?" he stammered, scratching the back of his head, "That tiger, no?"

"So are you!" Cagalli shouted and Mu winced as he eardrums throbbed while Cagalli stomped away. When he had recovered, he managed a small chuckle before turning to see that most of the women there were looking at him disapprovingly, and the included Natarle. "Eh heh heh," he smiled sheepishly, "Oh crap…"

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"Where on Earth could he be?" Mu sighed and then yawned hours later, "He said he'd be back before dawn and the sun's starting to come up."

"Maybe something happened to him on the way?" Natarle suggested.

"Sure hope not," Mu said, "But still, he's been gone for a quite a while. What's he doing out there?" Just then, a glimmer in the distance caught his eye and after a while, the outline of the X was visible. In a few minutes, the Mobile Suit had touched down and everyone could see that it was holding a bunch of crates in its hands. As Ryo got out of the cockpit and lowered himself to the ground. "Hey, kid!" Mu called out as he approached with a few other people, "What took you so long?"

"Well, Moula wasn't able to spare as much as I would have liked," Ryo said as he undid the ropes holding the crates together, "So I had to stop by Banadiya too. Hand me a crowbar, will you?" Ahmed, who was amongst the group, left for a bit and then returned with the tool. "Thanks," Ryo nodded and then used it to pry open one of the crates before reaching inside and taking out several bottles of water. "Get some people to help distribute these," he said as he handed them to the group and reached back in for more, "The more people who help, the faster this will go." The others nodded and soon, there was a large team of people helping open the crates and distribute the contents. While this was going on, others went around to help treat the wounded. Natarle happened upon a woman who's son was crying, a bandage wrapped around his injured arm.

"There now, does it hurt?" she asked sweetly and took her cap off before placing it on the boys head, "Here, don't cry now." As the boy ceased his crying, she reached into her back pocket and added, "Here, I'll give you something nice." Saying that, she pulled a rations bar out from her pocket and opened it before handing it to him and smiled, "Go on, it's yummy." The child reached out and took the bar and took a small bite before finishing the rest quickly. Natarle smiled but then sensed something behind her and nearly did a double-take when she saw that there were more kids standing behind her, looking at her hopefully. "Um, they're not that great, really," she said sheepishly and took two more out from her pocket, "I don't think I have enough…"

"Well now, I didn't know you liked kids so much, Lieutenant Badgiruel," someone laughed and she turned to see Ryo looking at her with an amused expression, "Now why can't you be like that all the time, huh?" Seeing an embarrassed blush come across her cheeks, his grin broadened, "Relax, this'll be our little secret, okay?" Natarle smiled a bit and nodded.

"Yes, it will," she said, "But if you tell anyone about it."

"My lips are sealed, Lieutenant," Ryo grinned and turned to leave, "By the way, you don't have to worry about running out of those. There are still plenty left in the crates." Meanwhile, Sahib was busy working on the crates when suddenly, a resistance fighter came up to him.

"Sahib!" he called out, "Come take a look at this, quick!" Curious, Sahib got up from his work and followed him.

"What is it?" he asked, what's going on?"

"We've located the BuCues," another rebel said, "They must've stopped somewhere for the night because they haven't gone too far from the village. If we go after them now, we can still catch up to them."

"What?"

"Since they burned down the village, they must be almost out of ammo," another added.

"We're going after them," a third wearing a bandana over his face told him, "We can't just sit around here after those guys have done something like this to us!"

"Don't say stupid stuff like that!" Sahib shouted angrily as Cagalli and Ryo both came up to see what was going on, having heard the commotion, "If you have the kind of time to do something like that, then help the wounded first! Take care of your wives and children! Things like that always come first!"

"What good will that do?" a rebel asked and pointed over Sahib's shoulder, "Look at that! Tassil's gone now! Our homes and food have all been burned and you're telling us to go cry with our wives and kids?" With that, he turned and left and the rebel with the bandana looked at him.

"Are you telling us," he said, "That we should be a lapdog for the Tiger, Sahib?"

"If the Tiger burned down your village after you provoked him once," Ryo warned them, "Then woe betide the ones who provoke him again. Please reconsider; I'm sure that the opportunity to attack will present itself soon enough. If you rush out in anger…"

"We've had enough of you telling us how to fight!" the rebel from before growled as he boarded his vehicle, "We're going!" While Sahib looked on in shock, seven of the vehicles drove off and after a moment, he turned and called out to his driver.

"Pedro!" he called out, "Get mine ready!"

"Sahib," Cagalli said, "You're going too?"

"I can't let them go by themselves like that!" Sahib replied, "As their leader, I have to take responsibility!"

"Sahib, wait!" Cagalli called out as he got into the vehicle, "I'm going too!" When she tried to get on, however, Sahib forcefully pushed her back out.

"No!" Sahib replied as they sped away, "You stay here!"

"Sahib!" Cagalli shouted and then coughed on the clouds of sand that had been kicked up, "Don't…" At that moment, another vehicle pulled up besides her and it was Ahmed at the wheel.

"Get on!" he said and Cagalli nodded before jumping into the passenger's seat. Up ahead, Sahib heard something approaching from behind and looked to see Ahmed driving up behind them.

"Cagalli! Ahmed!" he shouted, "Go back, it's too dangerous!"

"Have you forgotten already?" Ahmed asked as they pulled up alongside them, "We're the ones who blew up the BuCues last night! We can handle this!"

"There aren't any traps this time!" Sahib replied, "Go back, Ahmed!"

"Relax, will ya?" Cagalli grinned and held up a rocket launcher, "We've got tons of ways to fight!"

"Yeah!" Ahmed laughed, "Don't worry about it!" With that, they started to pull ahead but as they did, Sahib glanced at the man in the back seat, who gave him a nod. Back at the camp, Ryo, Mu, and Natarle watched them leave and Mu sighed.

"Well, well," he said, "The people and air are all heating up."

"They'll be annihilated!" Natarle exclaimed, "They can't take on the BuCues with those kinds of weapons!"

"Probably not," Mu agreed, "So what do you plan on doing?"

"Well…" Natarle frowned and scratched her head, "I'm not too sure…."

"Lieutenant Commander Flaga, you should contact the Archangel and tell them about this," Ryo said, "I'm sure they'll want to know."

"And what are you gonna be doing?" Mu asked.

"I'll go in the X to give those guys some support," he replied, "Natarle's right, the Desert Dawn can't beat them by themselves." Thinking a bit, Mu and Natarle nodded in approval and while Ryo rushed off to the X, Mu went to the Skygrasper to contact the Archangel.

"What was that?" Murrue exclaimed when he had explained it to them moments later and stood up, "They followed them…what are they thinking? Couldn't you have stopped them, Lieutenant Commander?"

"From the way they were acting, it was like they would've started shooting at us if we interfered," Mu replied with a small smile, "But you don't have to worry too much, Master Chief Mouri's gone off to give them some back up. Besides, there are still a lot of wounded people and they need water more than food. Fortunately, we've taken care of the issue of supplies, but…well, what more can we do?" Murrue sighed and thought for a while and remembered the sheer determination of the resistance group.

"I'll send out Master Chief Yamato in the Strike to provide additional support," she said, "We can't just let them die out there. If needed, we'll also send over some more food and medical supplies with our remaining transports."

"Roger that," Mu nodded and killed the connection.

"Crewman Second Class Haw, prepare the Strike for launch," Murrue told Miriallia.

"Ma'am," Miriallia nodded and then said into her headset, "Kira, get the Strike ready and prepare the launch!"

"Roger," Kira nodded inside the Strike's cockpit, where he had been sitting for the past few hours.

"APU started!" Miriallia said as the Strike was moved onto the catapult, "Catapult connected! Strike will launch using the Aile equipment pack! Aile Striker, standby!" Hatches opened around the Strike before mechanical arms attached the designated equipment onto the frame, "Systems, all green! Course clear; Strike, you are good to go!" The catapult activated and propelled the Strike forward and out of the bay before its Aile Striker pack unfolded and its Phase Shift Armor blazed to life, flying off in the direction the moving convoy.

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"Shouldn't we hurry it up a bit more?" Dacosta yawned. He had been driving for several hours with the three BuCues in tow and even though they had stopped to rest for a while, he was still tired.

"Are you in that big of a hurry to get back?" Waltfield asked lazily.

"Well, if we don't hurry up," Dacosta said, "They'll catch up with us if they're tailing us."

"The crossroads of fate," Waltfield muttered to himself and then added when Dacosta looked at him oddly, "Ground fire doesn't stand a chance against the BuCues, there's nothing to worry about." After a while, he also said, "People often say that it's a lot better to just die. Is it really like that?" While Dacosta gave him a puzzled look, the radar in the cockpit of the BuCues suddenly acted up and the lead pilot contacted the jeep.

"Commander!" he reported, "There are some jeeps coming up from behind us. Six…no, nine; I think it's the resistance's assault vehicles."

"So," Waltfield smiled as Dacosta blinked in surprise, "I guess it's better to die after all." At that moment, the convoy appeared and raced towards the BuCues and the jeeps in front of it. From hers, Cagalli took aim with her rocket launcher and fired at Waltfield's jeep. The shot went wide and landed in front of the vehicle, kicking up a cloud of sand which Dacosta barely managed to avoid.

"Commander!" he shouted.

"It can't be helped now," Waltfield frowned, "We'll have to take them out."

"Aim for the jeeps!" one of the rebels shouted, "Kill the Tiger!" Another rebel fired his launcher but a BuCue stepped in the way of the round and intercepted it before it could reach the jeep before swinging its leg down at a combat vehicle, barely missing it. Cagalli aimed again and fired, this time hitting the BuCue in the face and blinding the pilot temporarily. The man behind her shot at its leg and she did the same after reloading and once the two rockets exploded there, the BuCue teetered precariously and fell over.

"Alright!" Ahmed cheered while Cagalli and the other man grinned, "We got one!"

"Pesky bugs!" one of the BuCue pilots swore, "You're really pissing me off!" An assault vehicle fired its missile pods at the BuCue, one round hit but did nothing and the other missed completely. The same BuCue then leaped into the air and folded its legs so that its caterpillar tracks were beneath it and landed on the assault vehicle, destroying it. It then proceeded to speed after two more. Being hopelessly slower than the BuCue when it was in this mode, the two vehicles were quickly mowed over by the quadruped Mobile Suit and destroyed.

"Jeff! Akina!" Sahib called out as he watched his companions vanish in balls of flame.

"Dammit!" Ahmed swore and steered his vehicle between the legs of another BuCue and Cagalli and her companion aimed at the underside of it before firing a rocket each. Though it did little damage, it still shook the cockpit and irritated the pilot.

"Bastards!" he snarled and moved the control stick, making the BuCue draw its leg up.

"Jump!" the man shouted when he saw this and grabbed Cagalli and leaped off of the vehicle. Ahmed watched, confused before the BuCue's foot slammed into the side of the vehicle in a horizontal swiping motion and sent it and him flying. Cagalli managed to look up just in time to see him land a few meters away, his body flailing limply when it hit the ground.

"Ahmed!" she screamed just as the foot of the same BuCue stomped down near them. Just when it was about to finish them off, however, a rocket impacted its shoulder and it turned as Sahib's vehicle drove up with the said man wielding a launcher in both hands. Distracted, the BuCue began to chase after the new target while Cagalli and her companion hurried towards Ahmed. As they passed the BuCue, Sahib looked at the other two and remembered the last words of the bandana-wearing rebel, who had asked him if they were to be lapdogs for the Tiger forever.

"Sahib!" his driver shouted and Sahib turned to see the BuCue right behind them.

"DAMN YOU!" he snarled and aimed his launcher. Meanwhile, back to where Dacosta and Waltfield were, the jeep's sensor detected something approaching the battlefield.

"Two incoming heat sources sir!" he said, "Commander, these are…" At that moment, two beams of energy, one green and the other a shocking pink, flew from out of no where and narrowly missed the BuCue, causing it to slow down to avoid the shots.

"The Strike?" Cagalli blinked as the man next to her as well as Sahib watched in surprise, "And that other unit, the X! What are they doing here?" Meanwhile, the Strike and X, whose Phase Shift Armor was now active, were quickly approaching and fired their beam rifles again. The BuCue was once again forced to veer aside to avoid being hit.

"It's crooked?" Kira wondered out loud, retracting the targeting visor, "Oh wait, that's right, I forgot about the desert's thermal convection…" He had the Strike land and run for a bit as he made the adjustments and then took to the sky again. The BuCue aimed and shot several missiles at it while Ryo did the same in the X but they all missed and exploded behind the Strike. Taking aim, Kira fired a burst from the Strike's rifle and the beam severed the BuCue's missile pod from its back and rendered it useless.

"Did the Earth Forces send them to give the resistance support?" Dacosta asked from their viewpoint while Waltfield watched through a pair of binoculars.

"The Strike has different equipment from two nights ago," Waltfield remarked, "And their aim…they even registered the thermal convections on the perimeter…" Meanwhile, the Strike had landed and blocked a few missiles with its shield while the X dodged several more.

"Three enemy units," Kira said, "And one of them can't move."

"Well then," Ryo laughed, "That's piss-poor odds for those guys." Kira smiled at the joke and then saw something on his monitor. He zoomed in and saw that it was Cagalli and the other man kneeling over someone that Kira didn't recognize but Ryo knew that it was Ahmed.

"We have to lure the BuCues away from them!" Kira exclaimed and Ryo nodded before the two flew off in another direction. Down below, Cagalli was frantically trying to revive her injured friend but currently wasn't having too much success.

"Ahmed!" she called out, shaking him, "Ahmed, look at me! Ahmed!" Ahmed's eyes flickered open a bit and Cagalli breathed a sigh of relief as he struggled to lift his head up.

"C-Cagalli…" he said weakly as mist started to fill his vision, "I…you…" He got out no more as his vision clouded over and he exhaled one last time before his body went limp.

"Ahmed!" Cagalli exclaimed and shook him again, "Ahmed, stop joking around! Ahmed!" The other man watched and sighed heavily as Cagalli tried vainly to wake him up but it was too late; Ahmed had already passed into the next world. "AHMED!" she finally screamed in anguish and held her friend's body tightly. Meanwhile, the formerly disabled BuCue tested out its systems and the pilot found them operational.

"Good, everything's still working," he said gleefully but then Waltfield contacted the BuCue.

"Kakudo!" he said, "Disengage from your BuCue! I'll take over!"

"Sir?"

"If you want to more about the enemy," Waltfield grinned, "Sometimes you have to actually get up in their face and fight them yourself." Moments later, one of the BuCues drove up in front of the formerly crippled one and fired its missiles to distract the Strike and X. When they were in the air, the one without its missile pod leaped at the Strike but Kira immediately swiped it aside with the Strike's shield. Just when he was about to shoot at it, however, several missiles impacted the Strike from the side and distracted him. Several more struck when he landed and he turned to block the projectiles with his shield.

"The third unit?" Kira wondered out loud, "It's still operational?"

"Kira, watch out!" Ryo frowned, "I've got a weird feeling about that last BuCue!"

"Formation Delta!" Waltfield ordered, now inside the BuCue, "Assume your positions."

"Commander!"

"Let's go!" he shouted and the three BuCues lined up horizontally and charged the Strike and X. The first one went past the X, the second past the Strike, and the center one went between them, confusing the pilots as the Gundams wheeled about. When Kira and Ryo had regained balance, they looked at their monitors only to have a missile hit them in their head sections. The two flew off in different directions but the BuCue that Waltfield was piloting suddenly appeared in front of Kira and startled him. Though he fired the Igelstellungs, the BuCue used its leg to swat the Strike aside and down at the ground.

"Kira!" Ryo called out.

"Even if it's a normal missile," Waltfield said, "Even Phase Shift Armor will lose its effectiveness after seventy-six rounds!" By now, Kira had used the Aile Striker's boosters to prevent himself from crashing, "And at the same time, the power source for the rifle dies as well!" As he said this, he launched several missiles at the Strike. Though it dodged most of them, a few still managed to hit it. "So what are you gonna do now?" Waltfield asked as the two other BuCues passed behind his own, "Mr. Strange Pilots!" He fired several more missiles but as soon as he did this, Kira and Ryo suddenly saw the strange seeds in their minds again and when they shattered against the same invisible surface, their eyes shifted to a dull state and the two dodge the missiles and allowed them to collide with each other, detonating in front of the Strike and X. Even as light filled their screens, the two turned and charged the BuCues. Kira had the Strike let go of its shield and as they passed them, the momentum of the shield caused it to slam into one of the BuCues, startling Waltfield. Turning around, the two fired their beam rifles at the BuCues and barely missed them. "Spread out and confuse them!" he ordered and fired again. This time, the Strike and X ducked to allow the missiles to streak overhead and detonate behind them before charging again. The weapon-less BuCue stopped in front of them and Strike drew a beam saber from its Aile Striker pack while the X ignited its own over-sized beam saber before the two rushed forward and severed the stabilizers from the BuCue.

"Back off!" Ryo snarled and fired the X's shoulder mounted Igelstellung at the BuCue as it went back behind Waltfield's.

"Take this!" Waltfield shouted and launched more missiles as the two charged him again. Kira's eyes narrowed and had the Strike perform a back flip, kicking up a cloud of sand so thick that the missiles detonated on impact. The last BuCue leaped over the sand cloud but at that moment, the Strike and X emerged from beneath it, its rifles aimed at its cockpit. The last thing its pilot saw was a flash of green and pink before his BuCue went up in flames. It was then that Ryo felt his chest throb once more but he ignored the pain and focused on the battle instead while Cagalli and the remaining resistance fighters watched in awe. "You!" Waltfield swore as he charged the two but when he leaped at them, the two swung their sabers and severed his BuCue's rear left leg and his missile pod. "Dacosta, we're retreating," he said, "Get out of here!"

"Sir!"

"Heh, those two are real monsters," Waltfield grinned to himself as they sped away, "It's about time I faced some worthy opponents." Meanwhile, both Kira and Ryo had recovered; the former breathing heavily to catch his breath, the latter clutching his chest as the pain slowly faded. Later, as the remaining resistance fighters gathered below the Strike and X, the two pilots descended to the ground via zip-cable. When they had removed their helmets, there was a brief silence before Kira finally frowned and broke the silence.

"Were you all trying to get yourselves killed?" he asked, shocking the resistance fighters while Ryo looked on calmly. "In a place like this," Kira said, "There's no point in dying here."

"What was that?" Cagalli fumed and grabbed him by the collar of his pilot suit, "You jerk! Just look at what happened!" She gestured at a mat, where Ahmed's body had been laid. "We all fought desperately!" she said, "We're all fighting to protect those that we love and their existence desperately!" Finally fed up, Kira drew back his hand and slapped Cagalli across the face, startling her into letting go.

"Just how are you going to do that with just your feelings?" he demanded.

"I warned you before," Ryo said calmly while Cagalli held her cheek in shock, "That an army raised in hatred would never emerge victorious, and yet you did not listen. You all have great courage and ambition, yes, but those things will only get you so far. For in battle, one's head is for more than just filling a helmet." With that, he turned and added, "Come on, let's get back to the base. I'm sure that the others will be worrying about us and we have yet to give our fallen a proper goodbye."

Phase 18: End


	20. Fangs of the Enemy

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 19- Fangs of the Enemy

_February 19_, _C.E. 71, Banadiya, Libya Desert_

"Wow! So this is Banadiya!" Kira exclaimed two days later, "It's bigger than I thought."

"Well, it's not that big if you think about it," Ryo replied as the jeep they was in moved through the streets, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in the seat, "I've been here before and it's about as big as one of the towns in Heliopolis used to be." Today, the two pilots were accompanying Cagalli to do some shopping for food and special requests from crew members and Desert Dawn fighters alike. For once, they were allowed to wear civilian clothes for the trip and to Ryo, it was a lot more relaxing. After a few minutes of driving, the two jeeps finally stopped and the kids got out but Cagalli turned to the other man who was still in the backseat.

"We'll meet here in four hours, alright?" she said, "That should give us enough time to get what we need."

"Just be careful," the man replied.

"I know, you be careful too," Cagalli nodded, "Al-Jairi is someone you should take care around."

"Master Chief Yamato and Mou-" Natarle started to say but then hastily corrected herself, "Um…y-you two. I'll leave it up to you, then." Ryo nodded once and Kira smiled to show his assent while Tonomura smacked his forehead.

"We're going," Sahib said and the jeep with him, Natarle, and Tonomura drove off before the one that the kids had been on followed suit. As they did, Kira looked around the town some more before Cagalli walked up to the two.

"Hey, what's with the surprised look?" she asked, "You two are supposed to be my bodyguards for today, aren't you?"

"Are you sure this is where the Tiger's headquarters are?" Kira blinked, looking around, "It all looks pretty lively and peaceful to me." Ryo then noticed a fight going on in one of the alleyways and winced when one of the fighters was slammed into the ground with a foot on top of his head.

"Yeah," Ryo replied with a sarcastic tone, "If you can call the everyday brawl in the alleyway peaceful. Lively, maybe, but peaceful? Doesn't look that way judging by how those guys are going at it."

"Ugh, come with me," Cagalli groaned and led the two to another alleyway. This was one deserted, due to the fact that there were large craters punched into the street everywhere. "It may look peaceful on the outside, but it never lasts forever," Cagalli said as Kira's eyes widened while Ryo went to get a closer look before pointing up and adding, "And there; that's the real ruler of this city." The two pilots looked up and saw the massive Land Carrier, the Lesseps towering over the buildings.

"So it really is here?" Ryo asked, frowning a bit, "I'm surprised I didn't notice it before."

"It's a common sight here, so it's kind of easy to miss," Cagalli replied, "But this city belongs to ZAFT…to the Desert Tiger. Anyone who rebels is immediately and ruthlessly killed off. It's the way of life here."

"So I'm guessing that these craters here are from fights that broke out on this street?" Ryo said, looking back down into a crater and kicking a small rock into one, "Rockets?"

"Yup," Cagalli nodded, "These were made about a week ago. Anyway, let's get going, we've got a lot of stuff to buy." As the teens left the alleyway, a man watched them from his table near the café. Frowning a bit, he lowered his shades and let the visor of his straw hat shade his blue eyes. Back at the Desert Dawn's headquarters, the Archangel still lay dormant while children ran around outside. The canyon had become a temporary shelter for the now homeless citizens of Tassil. Inside the Mobile Suit dock, Murdoch, Tiffa, and Flay were busy cleaning out the cockpits of the Strike and X. So far, Murdoch was getting irritated by the amount of stuff inside them.

"God dammit," he grumbled as he pulled a crushed water bottle out from between the arm rest and the seat before tossing it over his shoulder, "How can those two possibly leave so much crap in here? Do they really have to live inside their cockpits all the time?" A Styrofoam cup and some other pieces of trash followed and Flay frowned at him before bending down to put them in a bag she held in her hand, while Tiffa dug around in the X's cockpit.

"He certainly has become messy," Tiffa thought as she put a wrapper into her own trash bag, "It's not like him…" When she was done, she pulled herself out and slid down onto the ramp. "Mr. Murdoch, sir, I'm done with the X's cockpit," she said to the head technician as she tied the bag shut, "Would you like some help?"

"Eh? Ah, no, I'm good," Murdoch replied, waving dismissively, "Just go dump that stuff off into the bin in the supply cabinet. Someone else will pick it up later."

"Okay," Tiffa nodded and left the ramp. Up above, Mu and Murrue watched Murdoch and Flay clean out the Strike's cockpit.

"But when did this start happening?" Murrue asked.

"Not sure," Mu shrugged, "I guess a little bit after we landed on Earth. From the way things have been going, I didn't think that Kira would have the time to get with a girl like that." He jerked his thumb at Flay at his last statement and Murrue sighed.

"That girl," Murrue said, "Wasn't she Sai's girlfriend? I've even heard their friends saying once that they were engaged, but now she's with Kira?"

"Unexpected? Well, maybe," Mu replied, "I thought that too at first, but…" Turning back to her, he asked, "So, what about Ryo and that other girl? Tiffa, I think…"

"He was with her when she enlisted," Murrue smiled, "I thought they were a couple at first but from the way he reacts to it, maybe it's more of a friendly affection going on between them."

"Or," Mu said, "Maybe he's just so caught up in his responsibilities, he doesn't have time to take a closer look at what's going on around him anymore." Murrue sighed and left the hangar, Mu following a moment later. "But Kira and Flay…I don't know if our weird situation got them together, or they got together and made the situation weird," he added, "Either way, it's not a good thing. The way those two are acting now…" As he said that, he remembered one night when he had gone to check in on the two when they were working and found them asleep in their cockpits. Having gone down, he heard had suddenly heard Flay's voice coming from the ramp calling out to Kira.

"Even so, it was careless of me," Murrue suddenly said, "They were such exceptional pilots that I…I completely forgot the fact that the two had no basic training."

"It's not just your responsibility, you know," Mu reminded her, "We're in the same boat. They always strived to accomplish things that exceeded our expectations every time, even if they themselves might have been in a desperate situation. We don't know when their might be another attack…but if that's the case, then I guess that they just want to prepare themselves so that they can protect this ship. Yet taking all of these drastic steps…they'll fall into their own traps if they keep thinking like that, those two."

"But isn't there a solution?" Murrue asked as they stopped walking, "You are their mentor, after all."

"Huh? Well…" Mu replied thoughtfully and as he thought, his gaze drifted over Murrue's form, taking in its details before he said, "I do, but I'm not sure if it's good advice."

"I see," Murrue said a bit irritably, having caught him, "Well, let's just hope that today's outing might do something to change their moods." As she walked away with a huff, Mu stared after her and then sighed, smiling.

"Ah…" he grinned, running his hand through his blonde hair, "Damn, I envy those kids…" Back on the bridge, the crew was talking about letting their only Mobile Suit pilots go out for the day.

"The Captain must be pretty bold," Pal said.

"You're telling me," Chandra nodded, "Even if it's for a few hours, she sent Yamato and Mouri out into town." Down in the CIC, Sai contemplated on last night and the past, when Flay had been close to him. Now, though, she had taken a liking in Kira and Kira was too strong for him.

"Man, I want to go out for a bit too," Pal groaned, "And I heard they got assigned to be bodyguards too. Are they really that strong?"

"They're Coordinators," Chandra said, "Of course they are." Outside, Miriallia poked her head out of the door to look around before heaving a sigh of relief.

"What's up?" Tolle asked as he came up behind her.

"Nothing," she smiled, turning to face him, "I guess I'm just feeling a little nervous since Kira and Ryo aren't around."

"Relax, they'll be back soon," Tolle said, "But until then, we'll be protecting the ship until they get back."

"Yeah, I guess so," Miriallia giggled, "Come on, we'd better hurry up and get to our shift."

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"Man," Ryo grumbled, "Why are we stuck carrying the bags? We're her bodyguards, not her personal slaves." The three of them had traveled through much of the town and currently, the two pilots were carrying the groceries that Cagalli sought out. Kira had two bags in his hands, one hanging from his elbow, and a backpack while Ryo struggled to balance two boxes on top of each other while hanging a bag under both elbows and another stuffed between the boxes and his chest, his own backpack weighing him down.

"Well, it's not too bad," Kira shrugged as Cagalli slipped a box into the bag he was holding to his chest, "Don't worry about it."

"Easy for you to say," Ryo said grumpily as they moved on, "You're not the one carrying all these vegetables and crap. I swear, whoever decided to make squash this freakin' big oughta be shot." Kira chuckled at the complaint and took the time to look around the village some more while they waited for Cagalli at another stall.

"Hey, Ryo, wait here for a sec'," Cagalli told him when she got back, "I'm gonna go back and check something. Kira, you come with me."

"Figures," Ryo groaned as the two left, "They leave me here in the middle of a crowded street and expect me to be waiting here patiently. Well fine, I'll just put this stuff down a bit…" With a great effort, he set down the groceries and stretched his arms, "Geez, my arms are killing me. I sure hope we finish up soon, I'm getting kind of hungry."

"So full of complaints, aren't we?" a voice asked him and Ryo looked around before he noticed something in his peripheral vision. Looking down, he saw an old man looking up at him. He was certainly an odd fellow; tattered clothes, long hair that was shaped like a lampshade, and a dirty manacle over his left eye.

"Uh…" Ryo blinked, "I don't think I know you."

"The real question is," the man laughed, "Is if you know yourself, little boy."

"What kind of a stupid question is that?" Ryo asked, cocking an eyebrow, "And who are you calling little? Listen here, gramps, if it weren't for that hairdo of yours, I probably wouldn't even have noticed you."

"Ah, youth," the man sighed, "So rude these days."

"Piss off," Ryo frowned, waving his hand dismissively, "Because that's exactly what you're getting me."

"Ah, but I've got something nice for you."

"Go get a haircut or something," Ryo said irritably, "And buy some real glasses while you're at it too."

"Alright then," the man nodded, "Let's play a little game. If you win, I'll give you something nice and go away. If you lose, then I'll go away and you get nothing."

"Tsch, fine," Ryo sighed, "But you'd better get out of my face when we're done. Now then, what's this game you're talking about? Do you want me to guess how many teeth you have left in that big mouth of yours?"

"Heh heh, no, that's not quite what I had in mind," he laughed, "All you have to do is answer my question."

"That's it?" Ryo snorted, "Fine then, shoot."

"Which came first?" he asked calmly, "The chicken? Or the egg?" Ryo stared at him in utter disbelief before sweat dropping.

"…You…" he said, "Have got to be kidding me…"

"Well?" the old man grinned, "I am waiting for your answer."

"Ugh," Ryo groaned, "Fine then, if you really wanna know, the egg came first, okay?"

"Ah, but if the egg came firs," the man said, "Then how did it get there?"

"Easy," Ryo answered, "Some flying dinosaur or something laid it and then eventually it became a chicken egg. I thought someone as old as you are would know that." The old man chuckled and reached beneath his rags.

"Very good," he laughed, "Here's your prize!" He tossed something at Ryo and he just barely managed to catch it before it hit him in the face.

"Hey! What the hell is your…" Ryo frowned as he turned back to face him, only to discover the spot empty, "Problem…?" Puzzled, he looked down at the thing he was holding and saw that it was a knife. "What is it with people and throwing knives at me?" he wondered as he looked it over. The blade was a triangle shape, about eight inches long and concealed in a leather sheath. Instead of a hand guard, a thin, two inch ring connected the blade to the handle. A strong cord allowed it to be hung from his belt.

"Ryo!" someone called out and he looked up to see Cagalli and Kira coming back, "Sorry to keep you waiting…what's that you've got there?"

"Some random old coot threw it at me," Ryo shrugged, putting it in his pocket, "But I think a souvenir will be nice."

"Whatever," Cagalli said, "Just pick up the stuff and let's go, we still have a lot to do." Ryo nodded and after a bit of struggling, managed to pick up all the groceries that he had been carrying and was hurrying after the other two to keep up. Meanwhile, in another district, Sahib, Natarle, and their companions were sitting in the living room of a large house, facing another man.

"I must say, I was quite surprised when you came," he said with a smirk, "I never imagined that someone like you would come all the way here to visit."

"I see that monopolizing the water has brought in great benefits, Jairi," Sahib frowned, "I never thought that I'd see your ugly mug again either, but it can't be helped; we can't just sit around and let our water dry up."

"Ah, but of course," Jairi replied, lifting a mug up to his lips, "After all, your life is more important than your beliefs, Sahib Ashman. Besides, water belongs to everyone, doesn't it? No matter where you go, water will always be water. You just need to drink it."

"You're going to just poke fun at this kind of stuff?" Sahib asked irritably, "Are you going to listen to our request or not?"

"Of course," Jairi smirked, "The good Samaritan lends his hand to anyone, especially his friends. But…let's talk about the finer details at the factory." Chuckling, he set his mug down and got up before leaving. After hesitating for a bit, the others got up and followed. Back in Banadiya, Kira and Ryo placed their bags on the ground before collapsing into some chairs set near a table.

"We've bought just about everything," Cagalli said from her seat, looking at a list and frowned a bit, "But that girl, Flay or something…she's out of her mind. Rosario latex and perfume…does she honestly think they sell that kind of crap around here?"

"You don't know Flay," Ryo grunted, massaging his arms tiredly, "If you saw the kind of stuff she used to buy at Heliopolis…" All of a sudden, his eyes widened a bit when he remembered something from earlier that morning.

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"_Hey, Ryo," Tolle said as Ryo prepared to leave, "Don't forget, okay?"_

"_Relax, will ya?" Ryo laughed while Kira got into the jeep, "I'll pick up something nice for Milly so you can give it to her tonight. Don't worry, I'm good at remembering this kind of stuff."_

"_Okay then," Tolle smiled and then called out as Ryo started to walk away, "I'm counting on you for this one!"_

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"Thanks for waiting," a waiter said, startling Ryo from his thoughts, and placed a plate in front of each of them enjoy.

"Well, I guess we can finish the rest later," Cagalli sighed, "Well then, let's eat!" Ryo and Kira looked down at their plates to see just what was on them. It looked like a big tortilla with some pieces of beef showered with lettuce and two pieces of tomato. The waiter then set down two bottles, one with a red cap and the other a white one, and left.

"Um, Cagalli?" Kira asked, looking at his plate, "What are these?"

"They appear to be some kind of weird taco," Ryo said, bending over to look closely at it, "But yeah, what are these?"

"These are the famous Donir Kebabs," Cagalli smiled excitedly, "You can only find them here."

"That explains an awful lot," Ryo remarked sarcastically, poking it, "I've never heard of these before."

"Yeah, well that's what happens when you live in space for so long," Cagalli said and then sighed contentedly, "Oy, I'm so tired and hungry after all the shopping…"

"You're tired?" Ryo asked, cocking an eyebrow, "Kira and I were the ones carrying the bags."

"Whatever. Anyway, let's dig in!" Cagalli grinned and held up the bottle with the red cap, "First, add this chili sauce to it…"

"Hold it right there! Wait just a moment!" someone suddenly said and the three of them turned to see the same man who had been watching them before walk up and pick up the other bottle, "How could you stoop so low as to put chili sauce on a kebab? Now this here yogurt sauce, that's the proper stuff."

"Huh?" Cagalli asked, frowning a bit.

"Well, maybe instead of saying that it's the proper thing, how should I word this?" the man said thoughtfully and then exclaimed, "Right! Not putting yogurt sauce on your kebabs is a defilement to this dish!"

"Um, excuse me?" Kira blinked while the other two stared.

"Great, just my luck," Ryo groaned, "First some old geezer who can't afford real glasses and a decent haircut comes up to me and throws a knife at my face after asking me a stupid question, and now Mister "God-of-tacos" here shows up out of no where and starts preaching about freakin' yogurt sauce! Geez, how many more fruitcakes am I gonna run into today?"

"Whatever. Who the hell are you anyway?" Cagalli huffed and squirted some chili sauce onto her food, causing the man to wince, "I don't need some random guy who doesn't know anything about my tastes telling me how I should eat my food!" With that, she folded her kebab and took a bite out of it while the man reeled as if he had just received a slap to the face.

"Ooooh! How could you?" he grimaced as if in pain, turning away and covering his eyes with his hand, "What a waste of a perfectly good kebab…"

"Ah, now that's some good stuff!" Cagalli sighed and grinned widely, having swallowed, before picking up the chili sauce bottle and pointing it at Kira, "Here, you have some too. Chili sauce is _the_ sauce to put on a kebab!"

"Hey now, hold on a second!" the man exclaimed while the two pilots watched, utterly stupefied, "Don't lead this guy in the wrong direction too!" He put the yogurt sauce bottle down to where Cagalli's hand was and pushed the nozzle of the chili sauce away.

"What are you doing? Go away!" Cagalli frowned, pushing back.

"Um, guys," Ryo said as the two struggled, "Do you mind watching where you…"

"And just what do you think you're doing?" the man asked crossly and pushed extra hard while Cagalli did the same. The result was that both bottles emptied out their contents onto Kira's kebab at the same time and when the man proved to be stronger, the stuff went over to Ryo's side of the table as well. Except this time, it missed his kebab.

"Gee, guys, I really appreciate the fact that you wanted to help me with my condiments," Ryo grumbled sarcastically and stuck his tongue out to lick some of the mixture off of his face, "But my food's down there on the table, which also seems to have been drenched by this stuff as well. I didn't need you guys to spray it all over _me_ instead, we're not eating French fries, you know."

"Eh heh heh," Cagalli laughed nervously, "Sorry?"

"Don't worry about it," Ryo said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm again, as he looked over himself, "My face has been tasting kind of bland lately anyway. And this stuff looks just great on my shirt…which also happens to be _black_." While this was going on, a few men on a nearby rooftop were watching the whole thing.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," one of them remarked while looking through a pair of binoculars.

"Who're those kids at that table?" another asked.

"Probably another bunch of idiots who live in the neighborhood," the first one replied, "Really, talking so calmly with the Tiger and not even realizing it…those fools."

"We'll be going," the other said, "Take care of the fireworks." He gestured to a small cache of weapons that lay next to the first man, which included two assault rifles and a rocket launcher as well as some extra ammunition.

"Right," he nodded and looked back at the table, "Prepare to meet your end, Coordinator." Back at the table, the man had sat down and was talking to Cagalli and Kira, who was still eating his kebab; Ryo, who had been forced to eat his plain because the incident had completely emptied both bottles, had disappeared to take care of something.

"Well, I really have to apologize again," he said to Kira, who was trying his best not to choke on his food.

"It's okay, really," Kira said after forcefully swallowing it before picking up his glass, "It doesn't exactly taste that bad when you mix the sauces…"

"I see you've bought quite a lot of stuff," the man remarked, looking at the bags that lay near the table, "You guys having a party or something?"

"Shut up, it's none of your business," Cagalli frowned, "What the hell is up with you anyway? Coming over and sitting down uninvited and then blabbering your mouth off." At that moment, Ryo came back to the table, carrying another small bag. His face and hair looked like he had just dried them off and his shirt looked wet in several places.

"What're you looking at?" he asked crossly, "I just went to wash the sauce off, that's all."

"What's in that other bag?" Kira asked.

"It's for Milly," Ryo said, holding it up, "We're celebrating tonight, you know."

"Ah, so that's what all this stuff is for," the man smiled, gesturing at the bags again, "So, how-" At that moment, the familiar sound of a rocket being fired was heard and all three Coordinators shifted their eyes to the sound.

"Hit the dirt!" the man shouted and as Kira jumped away from the table and Cagalli looked at him oddly, he delivered a swift kick to the underside of the table, sending everything on it flying as it flipped over behind him and he held onto his hat to prevent it from falling off; Kira and Ryo both moved to cover Cagalli as she stumbled out of her seat and fell onto the ground. A moment later, the rocket detonated behind them as the four crouched behind the upset table to take cover from the shockwave. Then, screams erupted everywhere as several men emerged from the adjacent building and started firing their assault rifles. "You guys hurt?" he asked as he drew a handgun from his pocket and slapped an extended clip onto the underside of its barrel.

"We're good," Ryo nodded and then looked at Cagalli, "Our friend's a mess, though." And he was right. When the man had kicked the table, the kebabs on it had coincidentally flown towards Cagalli as if she were a magnet and had left globs of chili and yogurt sauce all over her. In short, she looked somewhat similar to how Ryo had been a little while ago.

"Shut up," Cagalli scowled as several civilians drew handguns from their own pockets and fired at the gunmen, "What's going on?"

"Die, Coordinator! You filthy space alien!" one of them shouted as he charged the tables.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" another snarled before rushing at the tables as well.

"The Blue Cosmos?" Cagalli blinked, "Here?" At the mention of the name, Ryo felt an intense contempt build up inside of him and his hands balled into fists.

"So it's them…" he thought angrily as the man next to them fired at the gunmen along with the other civilians, "The same organization that cost me my home…"

"Don't hold back!" the man ordered as he fatally shot one, "Wipe them all out!"

"Sir!" one of the civilians replied. Just then, Kira and Ryo noticed two gunmen who had sneaked up from behind a wall. Just as they jumped out and pointed their assault rifles at the man, Kira leaped for a handgun that another one had dropped and picked it up while Ryo pulled the knife he had gotten from his pocket. As he tugged it from its sheath, Kira threw the hand gun at the two and knocked one of their assault rifles astray before quickly running up and delivering a swift kick to his chin, knocking him down.

"You!" the other one said, starting to twist around, "Annoying brat!"

"You stinkin' cowards!" Ryo snarled and raised the knife, "I'll show you how a real man gets the job done!" Before the other gunman could register what was going on, Ryo hand whipped his hand around and the blade cut deeply into the target's neck, his finger looped through the ring to provide extra grip.

"Alright, is it over?" one of the civilians asked while Kira looked at Ryo in shock. As Ryo twirled the knife around on his finger to flick the blood off of the blade before putting it back in the sheath, the same civilian aimed his handgun and shot the Blue Cosmos member who was still struggling to get up after Kira had kicked him. All of a sudden, Ryo dropped the knife and fell to his knees, clutching his chest as it throbbed painfully.

"Ryo!" Kira exclaimed and rushed over to his friend as he gasped for air, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I-it's nothing," Ryo grimaced, managing to put the knife back into his pocket even though his hands were shaking, "I'm fine, really."

"Hey, Kira," Cagalli said, coming over, "Do you even have the slightest clue as to how to use a gun?"

"Um…." Kira replied and grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as Cagalli and Ryo both sighed in exasperation; the latter having recovered from his chest pain.

"Commander!" someone called out and they all turned to see Dacosta running up to the man, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just dandy," the man smiled and turned to Kira and Ryo, who was now standing again, "And it's all thanks to those guys." With that, he pulled off his hat and sunglasses to reveal the grinning face of none other than…

"So this whole time, we were eating with Andrew Waltfield," Cagalli said in disbelief while Kira and Ryo frowned, "The Desert Tiger."

"Yup, and you guys saved my life," Waltfield smiled, walking up to them, "So now, I guess I owe you one."

"Well," Ryo shrugged, "It would have been a shame to have you die that way. Getting sniped from behind; that's a dishonorable way to go down."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," the Tiger laughed as several jeeps drove up, "Come on, why don't we stop by my place for a bit? Your friend looks like she could use some cleaning."

"Hey, nice ride," Ryo said, looking over the jeep with interest while Kira and Cagalli stared at him incredulously before declaring, "I call shotgun!"

"Heh heh, sorry, Dacosta," Waltfield smiled as Kira and Cagalli were lead into the back seats and Ryo jumped into the passenger seat in the front, "Looks like you'll have to find your own ride for this one, 'cause I'm driving."

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"Water, food, and fuel have all been taken care of," Jairi said later that afternoon as he led the others through the inside of a factory, "Now all that's left is the item in question." As Natarle's eyes darted around to look for potential threats, four men wheeled out a cart each with a crate on them before opening them. Inside two of the crates were neat rows of small, rectangular boxes, while the other two held rounds for rocket launchers. "These are 75mm AP rounds," he told them, gesturing at the boxes, "And Morgenroete Class-E 177 Jibasa large-format units, Mk. 500 Radar units, and…" While he was talking, Natarle and Tonomura had gone over to the crates and Tonomura picked up one of the boxes.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, peeling back the bubble-wrap around it, "These are authentic!"

"There are tons of them," Natarle said, looking inside another crate, "Seriously, where did you get all of these?"

"There are many underground trade routes in the world that come from ORB," Jairi chuckled, "Well then, it's hard to say anything more than that, but…"

"I know," Sahib frowned before asking Natarle, "So how is it? Are these good enough?"

"These should do," Natarle replied, "The thing is, I'm not sure how we're gonna get these back…"

"You can get all the items for us, right?" Sahib asked, turning back to Jairi.

"Of course I can," he said, "But it'll cost you." Another man handed a clipboard to Sahib and as he was looking over it, Tonomura looked over his shoulder and his eyes bugged out at the amount.

"What the…" he gaped, "What kind of price is this? Are they joking?"

"Water is very precious," Jairi told them simply, "An essential part of life."

"Kisaka," Sahib said and the man behind him took the clipboard.

"I'm assuming that the payment has to be in Earth currency," Kisaka frowned, looking back up from the sheet.

"That's correct," Jairi nodded and Tonomura cringed.

"Then bring these out to the jeeps," Kisaka said.

"What the heck?" Tonomura whispered to Natarle, "I really don't like this." Meanwhile, Waltfield had driven his jeep back to his home with Ryo in the seat next to him and Kira and Cagalli in the back.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Ryo remarked, gazing around as they passed a pair of Ginn OCHERs, "I didn't know people who served in the military got paid this much!"

"Well, it's does have its benefits," Waltfield shrugged before stopping the jeep and getting out, "Well don't just sit there, come on in."

"No, we're fine, really," Kira protested but Ryo got out anyway, "We don't want to trouble you…"

"Ah, don't worry about it, Kira!" Ryo said and leaned against the vehicle, "It's not like we're his prisoners or something. Besides, you know that you wanna see what's in there."

"Really, it's no trouble," Waltfield laughed, "It'd be unfair if I let you go off by yourselves after inconveniencing you and plus, I got some help from you guys too. The least I can do is get this girl's clothes washed; I can't exactly have her go back home looking like she got in a fight with your kebab." When Kira hesitated, Waltfield shrugged and walked into the house, the guards saluting as he walked past them.

"Come on!" Ryo groaned and yanked Kira out of his seat, "It's rude to keep a willing host waiting, you know."

"You make it sound like we're parasites," Cagalli said as she got out as well before the three went into the house.

"This way, please," one of the guards said and gestured them inside.

"Are these the kids, Andy?" a voice asked and the three looked to see a pretty young woman smiling at them.

"Yup, that's them. Get the young lady washed up, will you?" Waltfield replied from another room, "She's covered with chili and yogurt sauce."

"My my, kebabs, wasn't it?" the woman laughed as she approached them and Ryo thought to himself that the orange highlights in her blue hair looked somewhat out of place while she looked over Cagalli's condition, "Alright then, come with me."

"Hey, Cagalli," Kira started as the guards closed the door but Ryo stopped him.

"Wait a sec', Kira," he said, "Let's not be rash here."

"There's no need to worry," the woman smiled, "She'll be done in a little while. You two just wait with Andy a little bit, alright?"

"Hey, you two," Waltfield called out from inside the room, "Come on in, will ya'?" Ryo went in and Kira followed hesitantly after glancing at Cagalli one last time. Inside, the two found the Tiger standing in front of a pot of coffee and several mugs on a table. "I have a little hobby in making my own coffee; got some confidence in it too," he said as he poured some into the cups before gesturing at the large couch, "Why don't you two relax for a bit? Make yourselves at home." As the two went over to the couch, something caught Kira's eye and when he turned, Ryo stopped to look as well. There on the mantle-piece lay a medium sized flat stone standing vertically. When the two went to get a closer look, they saw that there was the fossil of something that looked like a winged whale engraved into it.

"Hmm, this rock looks familiar," Ryo thought and scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Where have I seen this before?"

"They call that Evidence 01," Waltfield explained as he came over with three cups, "Have you ever seen the real thing?"

"No, I haven't," Kira replied, shaking his head, and Ryo shook his head as well.

"Not the actual exhibit," he said, "But I've seen pictures of it and read an article about the fossil once."

"I wonder why everyone calls this thing a whale," Waltfield remarked before handing them both a cup, "Does it look like a whale to you?"

"The body does," Ryo answered, accepting the drink, "But those wings…"

"Yeah, that's what puzzles me," Waltfield nodded, "No matter what angle you look at it, it's still a wing. Whales don't have wings, do they?"

"No, they don't," Kira said, "But…don't they also say that this is evidence of intelligent life forms from outer space?"

"Well, yeah," Waltfield agreed, "But what I'm really trying to say is 'Why call it a whale?'"

"Then what could it be?" Kira asked while Waltfield and Ryo both took a sip from their cups.

"Hmm," Waltfield said thoughtfully while Kira took a sip as well, "If you put it that way, then it's pretty hard to answer. So, how's the coffee?"

"It's certainly not like any kind that I've ever tasted before," Ryo frowned, taking another sip, "What kind of brand is this?"

"Like I said, I make the mixture myself," Waltfield smiled, "For this one, I tried blending Mocha Sidamo with ten percent Santos No. two. It's just a tad bitter on the first sip."

"Well, it kind of is," Kira nodded, tasting it again, "But I find the flavor really quite delicious." Ryo nodded his approval as he took another drink of the coffee.

"Oh, so you guys like it, huh?" Waltfield grinned, "You've got pretty good taste, most of my men don't really appreciate it that much. Even Aisha doesn't really drink it very often."

"Aisha?" Ryo asked, cocking an eyebrow, "Who's that?"

"The woman who escorted your friend to the bath," Waltfield said as they went over to the couch and sat down on adjacent couches before he reached under the table and pulled out a paper bag, "Tell you what, why don't you take some of the mix with you? My own personal blend."

"Um, I dunno," Kira replied as he and Ryo sweat dropped, "We really don't…"

"Sure, we'll take some," Ryo nodded and took the bag, "I'm sure the guys back at home will like this stuff."

"Well, going back to the old rock," Waltfield suddenly said, "It's kind of a burden on mankind too, don't you think?"

"A burden, you say?" Kira asked, surprised.

"Don't you think so? Think about it for a sec'," Waltfield explained, "The hope of the people who found this…and then suddenly, a new hope or possibility is brought up. It means that humanity will be able to progress even more now." He took another sip of coffee while Kira and Ryo glanced at each other before he added, "But then again, that thing is also one of the roots of this war." Kira frowned and Ryo nodded in silent agreement. In another room, Cagalli was sitting in front of a large mirror, now clean, while Aisha was fixing her hair.

"Hey, I don't need this," Cagalli protested while the older woman ran a brush through her hair.

"Just hold still," Aisha replied patiently, "We'll finish sooner if you cooperate." Minutes later, Aisha was outside the door the other three were in and knocked before calling out, "Oh, Andy!"

"Well well," Waltfield smiled and stood up, "Look at you." Kira and Ryo both turned to look and saw someone duck behind Aisha.

"Hey, you," Aisha laughed and gave the person a playful shove forward, "Go on!" As the person stumbled on her high heeled shoes, it took the two a second to realize that it was Cagalli. Except…she didn't look anything like she normally did. Her hair had been tied back and decorated with small ornaments and two brass bracelets hung around each her wrists. A white collar that was separate from her strapless gown supported a brass necklace with a red gemstone in the middle. The gown itself was lime-green with a white, frilly sash running around it at a downward angle.

"You're…" Kira blinked, "A…girl?" Ryo smacked himself in the forehead and then did the same to the back of Kira's noggin.

"What did you think?" Cagalli scowled while Kira rubbed the back of his head and she advanced on him threateningly.

"Ah, no! That's not what I meant!" Kira stammered, holding his hands up defensively, "What I meant to say was that you look more like a girl like this…"

"That's the same thing, dumbass!" both Cagalli and Ryo shouted and Kira winced while Waltfield and Aisha laughed at their antics before the three teens also grinned sheepishly at their actions. At that moment, however, Ryo looked outside and saw that the sun was starting to get a little low in the sky.

"Um, guys?" he asked, "What time is it?"

"I think it's a little after two," Waltfield said, "Why?" Ryo went into a brief state of thought and then an uneasy look came over his face.

"…Uh oh."

"What is it?" Kira asked, "What's so bad about that?"

"Kira…" Ryo said, "I think it's been four hours by now."

"Ah, dammit," Cagalli groaned, "Kisaka's gonna kill me when we get back…"

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"What?" Murrue exclaimed, "What do you mean the three of them aren't back yet?"

"It's true," Kisaka sighed, the worry on his face apparent even on the screen, "We've been waiting for them here for about half an hour and they still haven't showed up. Did Sahib and the others return yet?"

"No, they haven't," Murrue replied.

"Well, the communications strength isn't too good around here too, so I can' really contact them directly, so if you reach them, tell them to return. From what I've heard and seen, there was an incident with the Blue Cosmos here a while ago." Kisaka told her, "But even if I wanted to find out more, I still lack proper sources."

"Petty Officer Pal, contact Lieutenant Badgiruel!" Murrue ordered when the connection was cut while Sai came up from the CIC to better hear about what was happening.

"Kira…" he thought and frowned, gripping the railing tightly.

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"That dress looks very nice on you," Waltfield said back at the mansion as the four of them sat on the couches, "If you look at it a certain way, one would think that you were quite accustomed to dressing like this."

"Say whatever the hell you want," Cagalli retorted and took a sip of coffee.

"Quite the lady until you speak," Waltfield shrugged and Cagalli lowered her cup while Ryo suppressed a laugh.

"Well it's equally hard to believe that you're really the Desert Tiger when you spend your free time dressing people up in these clothes," she frowned, "Is this another way for you to get your kicks, Waltfield?"

"Well, Aisha was the one who picked out the attire," the Tiger replied, "And what do mean by 'get my kicks'?"

"Running around the city while dressed up in some weird outfit," Cagalli said, "Or evacuating a village before burning it? That's what I mean."

"…You have a lovely pair of eyes; there's an honest look in them," Waltfield replied out of the blue, "Very lovely eyes…" Cagalli frowned and then slammed her palms on the table and stood up at the same time while Kira and Ryo looked on.

"Don't toy with me!" she warned.

"Hey, take it easy, Cagalli," Kira said, trying to calm her down without having her redirect her temper at him.

"So, are you one of the people who would rather be dead?" Waltfield asked, now it was his turn to frown. He then turned to Kira and Ryo while the three of them stared at him oddly and asked, "What about you two? What do you think?"

"Us?" Ryo blinked, "I don't…."

"What do you think has to be done in order for this war to end?" Waltfield clarified, "Give me your opinions as Mobile Suit pilots."

"Hey! How did you…" Cagalli exclaimed while Kira grimaced and Ryo frowned.

"Hmph, I thought so; sometimes being too honest can be a problem," Waltfield laughed and stood up, "Don't be so shocked, it was a simple deduction. You see, I know everyone in this town and when a stranger comes, it's pretty obvious. And recently, the only newcomer around here was the Earth Force's new warship." All of a sudden, he turned and went over to another table and Kira took this opportunity to lead Cagalli to the other side of the room while Ryo followed. As soon as they had reached the adjacent wall, Kira moved in front of Cagalli and Ryo stood by him, removing the knife from his pocket and loosened the blade from the sheath a little. "Unlike sports, the game of war has no set time limit or scoring system," Waltfield said while he dug through a drawer, "So how, then, do you determine the winners from the losers? Just where do you draw the line?"

"Draw…" Kira frowned, "The line?" Ryo furrowed his brow even further and shifted over to cover the other two a little more.

"Is it when…" Waltfield asked as he straightened up with something in his hands, "Every single one of your enemies is dead?" At that, he turned and pointed a handgun at the three. Almost as quickly, Ryo drew the knife from its sheath and held it in a throwing position. As this was happening, Natarle and Tonomura had arrived at Banadiya to help Kisaka search for the three of them, although it was of little use at the moment. Back at the mansion, Kira narrowed his eyes before sweeping them across the room to look for anything that he could use to defend himself and the other two with. "I'd advise you not to try anything stupid," Waltfield warned, placing his finger on the trigger, "Even if you both possess Berserker capabilities, you still won't be able to make it very far. Besides, when it comes to physics, a bullet is always faster than a thrown knife."

"Ber…serker?" Kira blinked and even Ryo's eyes softened a bit.

"Everyone in this building is a Coordinator like the two of you," he said, cocking his head to get a better aim, "There's no way that you'll make it out of here alive."

"W-wait…" Cagalli stammered and looked at Kira and Ryo with wide eyes, "You mean…you guys are…"

"I've only seen you in combat twice," Waltfield added, "But judging from my experiences; reprogramming your software to adjust to the sand pressure and then fixing the thermal convection…no Natural can fight like that. Even then, you guys seem to have exceptional skills, even for Coordinators. But still, to think that I would be fooled into thinking you were Naturals, I'm not that stupid. Besides, your fighting prowess that you so kindly displayed back in town pretty much gave it away."

"Gee, you think?" Ryo grumbled sarcastically.

"I have no idea why you're both fighting against your own kind," Waltfield said, "But as long as you two remain the pilot of those Mobile Suits, we'll be destined to be sworn enemies. And according to military creed, you kill your enemies on sight." Kira narrowed his eyes and Ryo shifted his stance slightly. After a while, though, Waltfield smiled a bit and lowered his gun as he added, "It almost makes you wonder if there's no choice but for one of us to be destroyed. While Kira and Ryo blinked in confusion, Sai was sitting inside the cockpit of the Strike and trying to figure out how to work it. He had managed to sneak past everyone in the hangar and by now, he had managed to turn the thing on. The Strike's eyes flashed and when Sai moved one of the control sticks, it took a step forward, pushing through the restraining ramp in front of it and startling the technicians down below.

"Hey, what the…!" Murdoch exclaimed before hurrying to avoid getting stepped on. Back at the mansion, Waltfield had put the gun away in a drawer and was back to his normal self again.

"You have permission to leave," he smiled while Aisha came into the room, "It was quite a pleasure talking to you, although I don't know if it was beneficial or not." There was a brief silence before Ryo put his knife away and Kira led Cagalli to the door. Before they went out, however, Waltfield added, "I'll see you two on the battlefield." The three of them paused again before letting Cagalli go to get her normal clothes back, which were now clean.

"He's really a pretty swell guy, that Tiger," Ryo said when they were outside where Dacosta was waiting to drive them back to Banadiya, "I told you he wasn't so bad."

"But still," Kira frowned as he climbed into the back, "Is he really…the enemy?" Back inside, Waltfield and Aisha watched the jeep drive off and Waltfield heaved a contented sigh.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let them go, Andy?" Aisha asked as it disappeared around the corner.

"They were some good kids," Waltfield nodded, "It can't do much harm."

"They're dangerous," Aisha said worriedly, "I hope you're not risking your life by letting them go to fight another day."

"These certainly are cold times, aren't they?" Waltfield shrugged. Meanwhile, in the Archangel's Mobile Suit bay, Sai had managed to maneuver the Strike all the way over to the linear catapult.

"What the hell's going on?" Murdoch asked as he and some of the other technicians followed it, "Those two haven't come back yet, have they?"

"What's going on in here?" Mu frowned as he came in, followed by Tolle, Milly, and Flay.

"Wh-what…?" Milly gaped when she saw the Strike moving. Just then, the Strike started to wobble on its feet and Sai struggled to keep it upright.

"Dammit!" he swore, pushing down on a pedal, "Why can't I…?"

"Hey! Stop, you idiot!" Murdoch shouted, "Who the hell are you?"

"I think I saw that Sai character hanging around here a while ago," one of the technicians said.

"What is he thinking?" Mu wondered out loud while the others watched anxiously.

"Come on…move!" Sai grunted, "I have to…I have to prove to her…!" At that, Sai's inexperience finally caught up to him as the Strike started to keel forward. Miriallia screamed as it fell onto its knees and only its combat computer managed to put its hands out in front of it to prevent it from falling face-first onto the floor. While Murdoch smacked his forehead in exasperation, one could hear muffled cries coming from inside the Strike's cockpit. A moment later, Flay slinked out of the crowd and rushed down the hallway.

"Idiot…" she thought, blinking tears as she ran.

Phase 19: End


	21. On a Calm Day

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 20- On a Calm Day

_February 20_, _C.E. 71, Archangel, Desert Dawn's Headquarters_

"Hello?" Ryo called out, "We're back!"

"Ah, there you are," Tolle smiled when he saw them, "We thought you got lost or something."

"We took a little side-trip," Ryo shrugged and then asked, "So, is everything ready?"

"Yup," Tolle nodded, "Tiffa's keeping Milly busy while we hide. You got the present, right?" Ryo reached into his pocket and handed Tolle the bag that he had gotten earlier. The latter smiled and pulled out a small box that was inside it and tossed the bag away carelessly before putting the box in his pocket.

"What's going on?" Cagalli asked, she had decided to go onto the ship for a while with the two pilots, "Are we celebrating something?"

"Yeah, just find a place to hide," Kira nodded with a smile before looking around and adding, "Wait a minute, where's Sai?"

"Ah, that," Kuzzey replied a bit nervously, "Well, he got in a bit of trouble before you guys got back…"

"Really? What'd he do?" Ryo blinked, interested, "Was he late for his shift again? I warned him that Badgiruel was gonna nail him for it someday…"

"It's not that," Kuzzey sighed, "He, uh, kind of tried to take the Strike for a joyride and…"

"He what?" Kira exclaimed, "What happened? The Strike's not damaged, is it?"

"Oh no, it's in perfect shape. There wasn't a scratch on it even after he lost control and made it trip," Kuzzey said, waving his hands in an assuring way, "But he did almost step on some technicians by accident. Luckily for everyone and him, no one was hurt but he sure did get one heck of a berating from Badgiruel and Murdoch."

"Ouch, that's gotta suck," Ryo winced, feeling sorry for his friend, "So what happened in the end? He's not in too hot water, is he?"

"Well, it wasn't anything major," Tolle answered, "But now he's gonna be stuck in the supply closet for the next week or so as disciplinary action. He still has to do his shifts too."

"Well, I guess it does serve him right," Ryo shrugged, "But I'll go over and see him later anyway to make sure he doesn't lose his head in there." At that moment, Flay came into the room and she looked as if she had just run from one end of the ship to the other.

"Everyone hide!" she said excitedly, "Milly's coming!" All at once, everyone was scrambling madly to get into a suitable position to conceal themselves. Everyone, that is, except for Cagalli, who stood in the middle of the floor looking at them oddly.

"You hide too!" Ryo exclaimed and pushed her into an empty bed, slammed the curtains shut, switched the light off, and dove under the bed; all in the timeframe of twelve seconds. By now, everyone had successfully hidden themselves from view and they could hear muffled voices outside by the door.

"Milly, wait," they heard Tiffa say outside, "I think they're doing some cleaning in there, we shouldn't disturb them."

"Really? I don't hear anything inside," Miriallia replied and then the door hissed open, "See, there's nothing in here. But why's this light off…?" As soon as she reached over and flipped the switch, all of the hiding teens pushed aside whatever was hiding them and leaped out of their respective spots.

"SURPRISE!" they all shouted cheerfully, startling Miriallia, before laughing. After having recovered from the initial shock, Miriallia smiled and laughed with the others.

"Aw, guys, thanks," she smiled happily, "But my birthday was three days ago, you know."

"Yeah, well," Tolle shrugged and then dug into his pocket, "Two days ago, we didn't have a present for you." He fished the box out of his pocket and handed it to his girlfriend, who smiled and received it. When she opened, her aquamarine eyes lit up and her smile increased by another two inches.

"Aww, it's adorable!" Miriallia squealed in delight, hopping up and down on the spot, "You actually got this here?" In her hands was a small bracelet made entirely of smooth shells, undoubtedly found near the shore. Each one was different from the other and if one looked closely enough, the words "Happy Birthday Miriallia" could be seen spelled out with one letter on each shell.

"Yeah, wasn't that easy to find, either," Ryo said, "Everyone chipped in for this."

"Oh, thank you guys," Miriallia smiled as she put it on, "This really means a lot to me."

"Hey, hey," someone said outside the door, "What's the big racket out here?" Everyone turned to see Mu rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, apparently having just woken up.

"Ah, nothing much, Lieutenant Commander," Tolle explained sheepishly, "Just wishing Miriallia a happy birthday."

"Well then," Mu smiled, now less irritated, "I guess I can't really complain, huh?"

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Two days later found Athrun Zala, currently taking a break from his usual military duties, driving a flashy violet sports car through the busy streets of Aprilius One. Though alone, the bouquet of flowers that lay in the passenger seat next to him suggested that he was visiting someone dear to him. After a while, he pulled up in front of the gates of a large mansion and stopped near a camera. Taking out his identification, he held it up to the camera and said, "Confirmation number 285002, Athrun Zala of the Creuset Team. I'm here to see Miss Lacus." As soon as the card was scanned, the red light next to the camera switched to green and a cool female voice came on.

"Identification confirmed," it said, "Please come in." The gates opened and allowed Athrun to drive the vehicle through them before coming to a stop in front of the house. Getting out with the flowers, he walked up to the door, where a butler took his coat before showing him inside.

"I'm glad that you could make it, Athrun," a cheerful voice giggled from above and Athrun looked up to see his fiancé on the floor above near the stairway. Near her feet, about five Haros, two different shades of blue, one yellow, one orange, and her favorite pink one, clamored around on the floor, making a bit of a racket as they came bouncing down the stairs with her owner behind them. Each one was shouting out "Athrun!" in its own mechanical voice.

"Sorry I'm late," Athrun apologized while the Haros bounced around him, "Traffic took up a little time."

"Oh, it's alright," Lacus smiled when she reached him.

"Here," he said, handing her the flowers as the orange Haro missed bashing into his arm, "These are for you."

"Oh?" she giggled and accepted the roses before smelling them, "You're so sweet, thank you very much."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Athrun cringed as the yellow Haro bumped his elbow, "What's with these Haros?"

"They're just welcoming the guest," Lacus said before turning a bit, "This way, please."

"Make yourself at home, sir," the butler bowed as they passed him and Athrun gave a nod of thanks before following the Pink Princess. Soon, however, he had to struggle a bit to walk without tripping over one of the many robots that were still bouncing around him.

"Aren't they a bit annoying like this?" he asked tentatively as he dodged the light blue one.

"They're probably just excited to see you," Lacus smiled, "It's been a long time since you've last visited, you know." After a few minutes, the two arrived in the Clyne mansion's spacious garden and Lacus called out over her shoulder, "Okapi!" At the sound of her voice, a small, quadruped robot resembling an orange turtle without a shell trotted up to her. "Can you please take these to Alice?" she asked, placing the flowers on its back, "And can you also have her bring some tea here?" The two bolts on the robots head twitched as it chirped once in assent and then floated up, turned around, and dropped back on its feet before going back on its way. Lacus looked back up and giggled when she saw that the Haros were still practically all over Athrun and Athrun himself couldn't help but smile sheepishly at his situation. "Mr. Navy," Lacus said and the navy Haro hopped into her hands obediently.

"Haro, how are you?" it chirped, its voice deeper than the others. Later when they were seated at the table, Lacus pressed a small button and a panel opened up to reveal a set of red, white, and blue markers. Taking the white one, Lacus started to scribble on the navy Haro's face.

"Let's put a mustache on you today," she said and then held it up to show that the Haro now had a large, white, horn-shaped mustache just below its eyes before walking out of the gazebo. "The one with the mustache is the leader!" she laughed and released it, prompting the four other Haros to follow it as it bounced off.

"I'm really sorry I wasn't able to attend the Memorial Service," Athrun sighed later, "Commander Creuset had to get in contact with Yzak and Dearka after they landed on Earth."

"It's alright, I'm glad that your friends are okay," Lacus smiled as she poured him a cup of tea and then handed it to him, "I prayed for your mother for you too."

"Thanks, Lacus," Athrun nodded and took a sip from his cup.

"You know, I was anxious to see you after I heard that you had come back," Lacus said as some birds flew overhead, "Will you be able to stay longer this time?"

"I'm not to sure," Athrun shrugged, "Our vacation schedules are kind of hectic these days, so…" There was a brief silence while the birds landed on the table and pecked at some crumbs that had been left on the cloth.

"A lot of people are enlisting these days," Lacus sighed as she broke a cookie into pieces and held it out in her palm, "Even some of my old friends are volunteering for the army. It seems like that war just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

"If that's the case," Athrun said as a bird hopped into Lacus' open hand and pecked at the larger crumbs in her palm, "Then I guess it can't be helped." There was another pause before Lacus smiled and put her cup down.

"You know, speaking of which, I wonder what Kira and Ryo are up to now," she said and Athrun looked at her in surprise.

"Kira and…who?" he blinked.

"Ryo Mouri," Lacus smiled, "You remember him, right? The three of us used to friends when we were younger." Athrun thought and then remembered where he had heard the name before.

"That's right," Athrun nodded, "He was the late Representative Mouri's son. Where did you see him?"

"He's the pilot who helped Kira return me to the Vesailius," Lacus said, "The two look very much alike if you look closely enough."

"I see…" Athrun replied and looked down at his cup.

"Have you seen either of them since then?" she asked.

"Just once, when their ship descended through Earth's atmosphere," Athrun said, "I think they're somewhere in Africa now but I'm sure they're alright."

"Kira was a good friend of yours, right?" Lacus sighed and broke another cookie.

"Yeah, when we were about four or five," Athrun nodded, "We met at a prep-school on Copernicus. When the war was on the verge of breaking out, though, my father called me back to PLANT for my own safety. Kira was supposed to follow after but…" Another silence descended on the two as a breeze swept through the colony.

"When I showed the two Mr. Pink, Kira said that you hadn't changed a bit," Lacus said a bit later, a bird perching on her finger, "He seemed rather happy; he told me that his Birdee was made by you." Athrun looked up at her in surprise as she added, "He seems to still be very fond of it."

"You mean…" Athrun blinked, "He still has that old thing?"

"Yes," Lacus nodded, smiling, "I've seen it perched on his shoulder many times whenever he came to bring my meal. He said that it was his friend…well, sort of."

"Is that so…" Athrun sighed and Lacus smiled again before looking off into the distance.

"I'm…rather fond of him," she said and Athrun looked at her in surprise before calming down. There was no reason for him to be alarmed; it wasn't like he was jealous, after all. Besides, he knew that Kira was a very likable person and it was only natural for someone who was kind to everyone to develop a friendship with him.

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"There's no reason for us to seize the Earth or drag the war against the Earth Forces on forever," National Defense Chairman Zala said, "However, as the situation continues to worsen, I'm afraid that we must take proper steps in response. The treachery of the so called "neutral" nation of ORB's colony, Heliopolis…"

"Honey, it's almost time," a woman said to her husband, who was busy fixing the collar on his violet ZAFT uniform, indicating his position in the Supreme Council.

"Yeah, I know," Yuri Amalfi sighed while his son, Nicol, sat on the couch next to him, watching the broadcast.

"I'd like to continue negotiations with the ORB and trust them. However, if things like this are constantly happening, then I'm afraid that my ability to do that will be limited."

"He's got a point," Yuri Amalfi nodded and Nicol turned to look at his father as he adjusted the cuffs, "What Zala is saying is true; or rather, it's harder to understand what Clyne's argument is." He paused and then asked, "That Mobile Suit you pilot, Blitz, was it?" Nicol nodded and his father sighed as he headed to the door, "I've seen its structural data. Once you get the chance to see it, you'd better take care."

"Television off," Nicol said and got up before hurrying after his father, who was almost to the front door.

"The car's here," Nicol's mother told her husband.

"Operation Spit Break," Yuri Amalfi said, "It's gotta get approved today no matter what it takes. What Zala said is true, we don't have the time to keep this war up anymore."

"That's what Commander Creuset said," Nicol smiled and his father sighed.

"I guess they'll be shipping you out once it does get approved," he frowned, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, really," Nicol said, "I'll be okay."

"You're the pride of this family," Yuri Amalfi smiled and put a hand on his son's arm, "Just feel free to do what you want while you're still around."

"Sure," Nicol nodded, "Thanks dad." His father returned the nod and left and his mother followed.

"I'll go to see him off," she smiled and Nicol nodded again before the door closed. Heaving a sigh, he turned and walked off to another room, where a grand piano sat in the middle of the floor. Sitting down on the bench, he lifted the cover and blew the thin layer of dust off of the keys before beginning to play. When his mother came back into the apartment, she smiled when she heard the music and walked off to see to lunch. Meanwhile, back at Aprilius One, shuttles were arriving from the other PLANTs as representatives came from their respective cities. One such shuttle carried Maius City's representative, Ezaria Joule, Yzak's mother, and when she disembarked, she was greeted by Eileen Canavar. Inside a room in the council chamber, Patrick Zala was watching some footage of previous space battles that he was going to use for the upcoming meeting.

"Are you going to deceive the others by showing them that?" a voice asked behind him and he turned to see Siegel Clyne standing behind him.

"I'm just presenting them with accurate information," he replied, turning back to the screen.

"You mean information that you picked out yourself?" Siegel frowned, "Operation Spit Break, which you proposed, will most likely be approved today. The public has already made up its mind, there's no stopping it now."

"We're still going by a majority consensus, Siegel," Patrick reminded him, "I hope that you remember that."

"Hatred is growing as the war expands," Siegel replied, "Just how far are you radicals planning to go with this?"

"That's exactly why we're doing what we can to end it as quickly as possible," Patrick said, "Besides, there's no point to a war if you don't win it." Siegel frowned a bit while Patrick shut off the monitor and the lights came back on before adding. "We Coordinators are the next step of human evolution. I see no reason why we should coexist with those inferior Naturals."

"We're already at our limits, how do you call that a whole new race?" Siegel argued, "Though you may not realize it, the birthrate of third generation Coordinators is steadily declining at a dangerous rate, no matter how much we discourage interracial marriage!" He, of course, was referring to the young couple Athrun and Lacus, who were taking a stroll through the garden without any idea of what was going on."

"I admit that it hasn't been an easy journey, but there's no doubt that we can overcome this as well," Patrick replied calmly, "If we all concentrate and work together, we can…"

"Patrick! Life is something that happens naturally! You can't just make it into however you see fit!" Siegel interrupted, slamming his palms on the table.

"Those ideas and concepts are, unfortunately, outdated and irrelevant," Patrick said, "And it's proof of your old fashioned ideology. People will continue improving…for a better tomorrow, that is."

"How can you consider that to be happiness?" Siegel challenged but before Patrick could answer, the intercom crackled behind him.

"Representative Zala, it's time," the person on the other end said, "Please proceed to the assembly hall."

"This is the general consensus, Siegel," Patrick told him as he walked to the door, "In a situation like this, we can't just throw away our abilities and leave the road of evolution to the Naturals." When he was gone, Siegel frowned and clenched his hands into fists.

"We haven't evolved, Patrick…" he muttered as he too left the room. Later, inside the Council Chamber, the members of the Council listened intently to Yuri Amalfi as he began to speak.

"The PLANT Supreme Council will now begin discussion regarding the submitted proposal. I believe that all of the council members are familiar with this," he said before holding up a piece of paper and reading from it, "Our first subject will regard the deployment of Operation Spit Break." As the other members murmured amongst themselves, Patrick Zala stood to speak.

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Later that evening, the quiet inside of an apartment was broken by a pained grunt as the occupant of the bed curled up in pain. Letting out a groan, the person reached for a bottle of pills on his bedside table that lay next to a white face mask but the pain suddenly caused him to tense up and fall from the bed. Struggling, he reached up and grabbed the bottle, shaking out a pill into his shaking hand and hastily popping it into his mouth before collapsing back on the floor.

"Dammit," he swore as his cell phone rang noisily near his pillow, where he had left it before he had fallen out of bed, "Now what?" Reaching up, more steadily this time, he took the phone and pressed the button before holding it to his ear. "Creuset speaking," he said.

"It's me."

"Representative Zala," Creuset blinked in surprise when he heard the voice on the other end, "I thought you had a meeting…"

"It's been approved. There are still two or three left, but…" Patrick replied on the other end, "I'd like to discuss the finer details with you personally later. How about it?"

"Understood," Creuset nodded, "I'll meet you then."

"Heh heh, if we put our minds to it," Patrick sneered, "The likes of the Naturals are nothing." With that, he hung up and Creuset did the same a moment later before he cringed in pain again and dropped his phone, falling over onto his side. He dragged himself across the floor again before collapsing onto his side from exhaustion.

"Heh, that's right," he smirked, "Build up your confidence all you want, Patrick Zala." Meanwhile, back at the Clyne mansion, Lacus and her Haros were seeing Athrun to the door as he prepared to leave.

"It's a shame that you have to leave so early," Lacus sighed, "It would have been nice if you could have stayed for dinner."

"I'm sorry," Athrun said apologetically, "I would have liked too, but…"

"When the meeting's over, my father will be coming home as well," Lacus smiled, "He said that he's been looking forward to seeing you."

"Well, there's a lot of work to be done," Athrun sighed, "I probably won't be able to make it."

"Is that so?" Lacus nodded a bit dejectedly, "Very well then, I guess it can't be helped."

"Ah, well, of course, if I have the time," Athrun stammered quickly to cheer her up, "I'll definitely stop by to visit again."

"Really?" Lacus asked, brightening up immediately, "I'll be waiting, then." Athrun nodded and then leaned towards her a bit. It took her a moment to grasp the situation and then smiled before turning her head a little, allowing Athrun to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Well, I'd better get going," Athrun said when he drew back and turned, "Have a nice evening."

"Good night, Athrun," Lacus nodded and with that, Athrun walked out of the house. Smiling a bit, she caught the pink Haro in midair and said to it, "He must be having a hard time these days, Athrun."

"Haro! Haro! That's not good!" Meanwhile, as Athrun was driving back to his apartment, he heard Lacus' voice and turned to see that a car was blasting one of her songs on its radio and out the windows. As it passed, he looked back ahead and remembered the day he had seen the Bloody Valentine play itself out on the giant monitors mounted on the buildings, watched as Junius Seven was reduced to a giant fireball.

"I don't wanna go through that again," he thought, remembering Lacus telling him that Kira still owned the robotic bird he had given to him years ago, "Dammit…is it even possible, Kira?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Morning came and the crew of the Archangel had been working long through it. It was now almost noon and most of the crewmembers were in the hangar, moving supplies to and fro. While Miriallia checked some crates, Tolle drove some others over to a stack that needed to be moved. While this was going on, Kira, Kuzzey, and Ryo were bringing some food to Sai, who was still in confinement. Unbeknownst to them, however, Flay was silently tailing them from behind. When they reached the door, however, Kuzzey turned to Kira and said, "Maybe it would be a good idea if you stayed out here. Just hide somewhere when Ryo and I go in, okay?" When Kira gave him a funny look, he added, "We don't want Sai going nuts again, do we?"

"No, I guess not," Kira sighed and Kuzzey nodded before putting in the access code while Ryo put a hand on Kira's shoulder and gave him a knowing look as the door slid open.

"Sai? You okay in there?" Kuzzey called out while Kira stood away from the doorframe and Ryo went inside.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he heard Sai reply from inside, "Is that it?"

"What do you mean 'Is that it'?" Ryo said irritably, "Just be grateful that you've actually got something to eat, will ya'? Some of those villagers are still going hungry out there, you know."

"I guess you're right," Sai nodded and looked down at the kebab on his plate.

"Look, Sai, I know that it's gonna be rough spending the week in here," Kuzzey said while Kira chanced a peek inside, "But it's only for a few more days, so just bear with it until then, okay?"

"I know," Sai smiled, "I'll be fine." Kira sighed and moved back but as he did, he caught sight of Flay a few meters away from him. Seeing that she had been spotted, she quickly ducked behind a wall frame while Kira frowned. Just then, Ryo's watch beeped and he looked down at it.

"Oh, will you look at that?" Ryo said, raising an eyebrow, "Time for a shift change. I'll go and tell the Captain that. Later, guys." With that, he walked out of the room and past Kira, to whom he gave a slight nod to, before exiting the ship. "Christ, it's burning out here!" he thought and wiped some sweat that had already accumulated on his forehead away, "I swear, these people could probably cook their lunch on a freakin' rock in this kind of climate…" Minutes later, he reached the cave entrance and waited for the guard next to it to let him in before walking inside. Much to his relief, it was much cooler in the cave and he could hear people talking as he walked in.

"There's a large hollow cavity of abandoned mines in this area," Sahib said, pointing at a spot on the map, "And over here is where we've hidden some landmines, it's an ideal battlefield. They'll think the same and follow us, so it'll be a good chance to use the mines."

"Captain," Ryo suddenly interrupted and saluted as the others turned to him, "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't realize you were having a meeting. I'll wait till you're done, if you want."

"It won't take too long," Mu assured him and then turned back to Sahib, "But is it really okay? I mean, we can pull it off just fine but with the equipment that you guys have, you'll take severe casualties."

"We will never give in to the Tiger," Sahib replied firmly, "If we do that, we may be able to live peacefully, just like Banadiya. There are rumors going around that most of the women are talking about it." A woman ran past the entrance after her kids as Sahib added, "But the hands of a ruler are fickle. How many hundreds of years do you think our families have suffered because of them? We don't want to rule or be ruled, that's all we wish for. If we can recover the eastern airport that the Tiger captured, then we might just fulfill that wish." There was a brief silence before Sahib laughed a bit, "But we're just borrowing your strength for a while, anyway. That's pretty much it, there's no need to worry about us."

"Alright then, I understand," Mu nodded, "Captain?"

"I understand too," Murrue replied, "As for the assault on the Lesseps, we'll gladly help you out." Sahib nodded and then glanced at Ryo, who was still standing there. "Oh, sorry, Master Chief Mouri," she said apologetically, "Was there something you needed?"

"Oh, no, not really," Ryo replied a bit sheepishly, "I just came to let you guys know that we changed shifts, that's all."

"Is that all, then?" Natarle asked.

"Yes, ma'am, that's it," Ryo nodded, "I'll head back to the ship now…"

"Ah, c'mon, kid, stick around for a bit!" Mu grinned, "We were just about to think of an attack plan anyway, so why don't you give us a hand? You seem to have a hand at this kind of stuff."

"Oh no, really," Ryo stammered, "I'm not that great when it comes to strategy."

"Well, Badgiruel here told me otherwise," Mu said, "She told me once that you were the one that advised that we use the Blitz's shots to calculate its position when it had its Mirage Colloid on and Kira mentioned that you gave him some tactical advice when you fought the BuCues the first time."

"H-he did, did he?" Ryo blinked, "Well, I guess I do get lucky with my ideas sometimes…"

"I insist, Master Chief Mouri," Murrue smiled and gestured at a map, "Why don't you give us an idea?" A bit embarrassed from being addressed directly by the Captain for a favor, Ryo hastily saluted and walked over to the map and looked it over for a while. He then closed his eyes and thought before he looked up at Sahib.

"Are there any really big underground water-reserves in this area?" he asked, pointing at a marked location.

"There's one here," Sahib nodded, pointing at a different spot, "It used to be our main source of water until it was polluted by the nearby Talbadiya Factory. It's useless now."

"So I'm guessing that you won't be needing it anymore?" Ryo said.

"It's generally a waste of space," Sahib shrugged, "Why?"

"I once read a pretty good war novel called _Romance of the Three Kingdoms_," Ryo answered, "During a battle, there was a heavy downpour and the river was swelling up, threatening to flood. A general named Guan Yu harnessed the river and sent it flowing into the enemy fortress, flooding out the entire structure and sending the opposing army into confusion. I'm thinking of trying something like that against the Lesseps."

"Impossible," Sahib said, shaking his head, "Interesting, but it would never work. No geyser can penetrate the Lesseps' armor."

"I'm not trying to damage its armor," Ryo replied, "It's the interior of the ship that I'm targeting."

"I get it," Mu nodded, "You want us to blow a hole into the ship and then do something to make the water come out of the ground and flood the inside."

"It'll be difficult," Natarle pointed out, "In order to successfully flood it, we'll have to blow a hole that's at the correct angle for the water to enter into."

"I'll handle that part; the X's beam saber should be enough to make a good sized cut into its hull," Ryo said, "But I'll need you guys to keep the ship and its defenses busy and lead it over the mine so that I'll have enough time to prepare. Once I've done that, I can use the X's Scylla Cannon to blast a hole into the ground. The water can take care of the rest."

"It sounds promising," Sahib admitted, "But we'll save that plan for in case our first one fails. It sounds very risky and we're only allowed so many risks."

"Understood," Ryo agreed, "Well then, if that's all, then I'll be going now."

"Go on, Master Chief Mouri," Murrue nodded.

"Captain," Ryo saluted and turned on his heel and briskly walked out of the room.

"Should we really go with that, Captain?" Natarle asked, "That strategy of his sounds awfully complex."

"Well, he'll be doing the hard part," Mu replied, "And he has a point. We have to at least slow down the Lesseps so that we stand a chance. It's a lot faster than the Archangel when it comes to desert warfare."

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"Yeah! Got it!" Cagalli laughed as she clicked the trigger and the images of two Ginns exploded on the screen.

"Wow, keep it up!" Kuzzey cheered while Neumann smiled. It was evening and currently, Miriallia, Tiffa, Neumann, and himself were crowded around the behind Cagalli as she skillfully shot down another Ginn on the new Skygrasper simulation that they had broken out earlier. She was doing a pretty good job too.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Tolle asked as he came over.

"Tolle, you've gotta see this!" Miriallia smiled and gestured to Cagalli, "She's really great!"

"Yeah, she is," Neumann nodded and leaned down against the seat, "Hey, um, Cagalli, was it? Do you have any experience with aerial combat at all?" Cagalli laughed again but then looked surprised as the screen faded out and informed her that her time was up before displaying her score and rank. So far, she had scored 2,350,025 points, having shot down ninety-eight out of a hundred enemies and had only gotten hit once; earning her a rank of SSS.

"Eh, I think I got hit twice, not once," she shrugged.

"That's really amazing," Kuzzey stared, "I got shot down as soon as I started!"

"Yeah, me too," Miriallia admitted sheepishly.

"Hey, wait a second!" Tolle exclaimed, "You mean you all went on this thing already?"

"You guys are really pathetic as soldiers, you know? You've never even fired a gun at anyone," Cagalli said, startling the others as she climbed out, "You'll die at this rate; war won't wait for you, you know."

"She's got a point," Neumann told them.

"What do you mean?" Miriallia asked, "Shooting people isn't really something to brag about."

"Not having fired a single bullet as a soldier isn't something to brag about either," Neumann replied. While the others contemplated this, Tolle's face lit up as he stepped forward.

"Hey, can I try it now?" he asked, "I wanna check it out too!"

"This isn't a video game, you know," Neumann said, trying his best to look stern even though he chuckled a bit at Tolle's enthusiasm.

"Understood!" Tolle replied, snapping to attention, "I'll treat this as a training exercise and take it seriously."

"That's more like it," Neumann laughed, "But if you get shot down, then you're going without dinner later."

"Huh? Hey, that's not right!"

"Oh come on, Tolle," Miriallia laughed while the others did the same, "Just give it a try!" Meanwhile, Cagalli had walked over to one of the Skygraspers and was admiring until a crewmember got in front of her.

"Hey, you can't use the real one," he said.

"Tsch, I know that," Cagalli replied and rolled her eyes as she walked away and the crew member saluted her quickly.

"Hey now, I see you guys got that Skygrasper simulator up and running," she heard someone say and turned to see Ryo walking towards the machine, "Good thing too, Kira and I could use another wingman."

"Hey, you're back!" Kuzzey smiled, "What took you?"

"Some old lady lost her glasses and I had to help her comb the whole canyon before she found them in her pocket," Ryo grumbled, "Not a lot of fun, especially in this weather." Walking around, he saw that Tolle was at the controls and said, "So, how's it coming, Tolle?"

"Great!" Tolle grinned, "I've already shot down six of these guys!"

"Hmm, not bad," Ryo nodded in approval while Cagalli came back to watch as well, "Keep that up and you might make the top four." Tolle just nodded and shot down another Ginn. By the time he was finished, he had successfully made it to Class A without getting shot down, although he had come close to it, placing him in third.

"Hey, Ryo, why don't you give it shot?" Kuzzey asked when the score was displayed, "Though you'd probably shoot them all down without getting a scratch."

"Pfft, if you guys wanna watch me pilot so bad," Ryo laughed, "Why don't you just watch on the view screens on the bridge? I'm sure they're big enough for you to see them even from the CIC. Or better yet, why don't you hitch a ride with the Desert Dawn fighters and get a really close look?"

"Um, no thanks," Kuzzey replied sheepishly as the others laughed, "I think I'll pass."

"I'll try it," a softer voice said timidly and everyone turned to see Tiffa shuffling her feet a bit nervously.

"Oh?" Miriallia asked as Tolle climbed out of the seat, "I didn't know you were into piloting, Tiffa."

"It's not that," Tiffa replied, blushing a little, "It's just that, well, everyone else has gone, and it wouldn't really be right if I didn't try too."

"Ah, why not?" Neumann shrugged, "Go on, it can't hurt to give it a shot." Tiffa nodded and climbed into the seat before getting a firm grip on the control stick. Ryo noticed that her hand was positioned in a way that suggested that she had done this before.

"Okay, I'm starting it," the crew member said and Tiffa nodded before the screen came to life. Instantly, a sort of jolt in her mind told her where the first Ginn was coming from and she had moved the control stick to follow it. She quickly clicked the trigger once and the Ginn was gone as quickly as it had appeared. A second jolt had her moving again while the others watched as she destroyed the second Ginn just as quickly.

"Her aim…" Ryo frowned as he thought to himself, "Is this the result of her Newtype power? Or has she been watching the simulation enough to memorize where each Ginn appears? Either way…her perception is incredible…" "Crewman," he suddenly said out loud to the person operating the machine, "Does this thing randomize the simulation after every run?"

"Of course it does," the crew member replied, "This thing is almost the same as the ones as they use in training camp. It generates the Ginns at random so that the pilot can get a real-life combat experience."

"So it is her Newtype abilities," Ryo thought, "But they'd have to be insanely powerful if she can sense even what the machine's about to do." And it was true; Tiffa was doing a remarkable job of clearing out the incoming Ginns, to the point where it was starting to creep the others out.

"Whoa," Tolle muttered, "She's good! She might even give Cagalli a run for her money if she keeps this up!"

"Yeah, but it's kind of weird," Miriallia said, "I mean, Tiffa's the quietest out of all of us…and now she's suddenly an ace pilot?" However, Ryo could tell that Tiffa's nerves were starting to break from the simulation. When he looked into the pod, he saw that her eyes had widened and her grip was tightening around the control stick as she tried to steady her shaking hands. Soon, she started to sweat and eventually, she was on the verge of hyperventilating; Ryo started to grow concerned at around this point.

"Hey, Tiffa," he blinked, leaning closer to her, "Are you okay?" He got no response; her breathing rate only increased and her eyes dilated, her whole body was shaking by now. "Tiffa?" Ryo asked, nudging her a bit, "Hello, are you in there? Tiffa?" This went on for another minute until her time expired and everyone looked to see how she had done. As it turned out, she was second only to Cagalli with a rank of SS, which means that Tolle had been pushed down to fourth.

"Ha! Tolle, you just got beaten so bad!" Miriallia laughed while the said brunette gaped at the score, "She outranked you by two!"

"I guess," Tolle shrugged, having regained his composure, "Nice shooting there, Tiffa." When the girl didn't reply, however, his smile faded as Miriallia went to take a closer look.

"Tiffa?" Ryo frowned and shook her, "Come on, the simulation's over. You can let go now." Tiffa still didn't respond, she sat frozen where she was, trembling all over and maintaining her death-grip on the control stick; terror was written all over her face."

"What's gotten into her?" Miriallia asked as she too shook the younger girl, "Tiffa? Are you okay? Tiffa!"

"She's petrified," Neumann said, "She must've been really scared by the thing…I guess her good score came from her fear of being shot down." Meanwhile, Ryo was trying calm Tiffa down enough so that she could move; so far, he wasn't having much luck.

"Tiffa, come on," he sighed, reaching for her hand and effortlessly prying it from the control stick, "It's okay, the simulation's over. You don't have to fight anymore." Slowly and gently, he helped Tiffa stand and climb out of the pod. The problem was that she was still shaking so badly that she could barely stand and she finally collapsed on her knees as silent tears started to roll down her face. Ryo knelt next to her and gently pulled her into a protective embrace; one arm circling her shoulders and the other pressing her head against his chest. Hesitantly, Tiffa's arm twitched before moving and her fingers slowly glided over his face while the rest of her body remained motionless.

"R-…" she muttered, her expression not changing while she continued to stare forward, "R-Ryo…?"

"Yeah," he nodded and held her closer, "I'm here." All of a sudden, Tiffa seemed to lose all restraint and burst into tears, clinging onto him tightly. "Ssh, there now," Ryo said, smiling a bit as she cried into his chest, "Just let it all out…that's it…" "Ironic thing is…" he thought, "Just weeks ago, she was the one comforting me…" Ryo was so caught up in what he was doing that he completely forgot that everyone around him was watching. Tolle and Kuzzey smiled while Miriallia sighed dreamily at the sight and Cagalli too was moved. This went on silently until Murdoch, who had gone over to see what was going on, finally couldn't stand another second and blew his nose very loudly, startling everyone.

"Murdoch!" almost all of the crew groaned exasperatedly while Miriallia added, "You killed the moment!" At this, both Ryo and Tiffa, who had calmed down a sufficient amount by now, realized the position that they were in and quickly separated, both now very embarrassed and red in the face.

"Sorry," Murdoch sniffed and wiped his eyes, "But it was so…so beautiful…" As the other crewmembers scoffed and walked off, Ryo and Tiffa kept their gaze on the floor, their backs turned to each other.

"Um, well…" Ryo finally said a bit sheepishly and scratching the back of his head, "Sorry about that…forgot that we were in an open area…"

"It's okay," Tiffa smiled, her blush deepening a bit, "I…really didn't mind…" Ryo blinked in confusion at her words but decided not to ask.

"Well, I'm gonna go get something to eat," he told her, "You coming?"

"Yes," she nodded and then added as they headed out of the dock, "Ryo."

"Hm? Yeah?"

"Thank you," Tiffa said serenely, "For being here." Ryo just smiled and playfully messed around with her hair as they walked out of the hangar. Meanwhile, Kira was alone in his darkened room, lying on the bed. As he was contemplating his thoughts, the buzzer rang and he heard someone call out to him.

"Kira?" a voice asked from the speaker and he recognized it as Flay's even before the door opened to let her in, "Oh come on, why do you leave your room so dark?" She turned the lights on as Kira sat up, the latter eyeing her suspiciously.

"What were you doing back there?" Kira frowned as Flay came to sit next to him, "You went to see Sai, didn't you?" At first, Flay looked surprised but then she sighed and leaned against his shoulder.

"Sai's such an idiot," she mumbled and Kira looked at her in surprise, "You're ten times better than that loser. He's so dumb…"

"Flay…" Kira blinked and then looked down at the floor, now confused.

"Kira?" Flay asked, also confused by his behavior, "Kira, what's wrong?" Kira's reply was to shift over away from her, "Kira…" When he didn't reply, she said, "Kira, it's alright…you have me…"

"Flay…?" Kira was cut off when Flay forcefully kissed him, pushing him down onto the mattress. This time, though, Kira was well aware of what was going on and managed to get out from under her, sending her sprawling onto the bed.

"Kira…"

"Sorry…" he sighed, "I can't…" With that, he dashed out of the room, leaving Flay behind. Running into an empty hallway, he ducked into another and silently wept there.

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"Very well then," Patrick Zala nodded later that night, "I'll entrust the real Operation Spit Break to you."

"You'll definitely be Clyne's successor in the next election," Rau smirked and turned to look at him, "I hope that you're not careless in your preparations." Patrick gave another nod to show his understanding. Meanwhile, back at Athrun's apartment, the said bluenette was preparing to call it a day. After grabbing a drink from the refrigerator, he paused to look at the large board hanging on the wall. There were pictures tacked all over it and Athrun took the time to look at them. There was one of himself and his former mentor Miguel Ayman in uniform as well as one of his old friends Rusty McKenzie in his pilot suit. In the center, however, was one of himself and Kira when they were younger. Both were smiling and Kira was waving at the camera. Athrun couldn't help but smile a bit but it disappeared when he recalled the last time the two had seen each other face to face.

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"_Then I've got no choice," Athrun frowned, "The next time we meet, I'll shoot you at will!"_

"_Same goes for me."_

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Unbeknownst to him, Kira himself suddenly frowned as he stared at the immobile Strike Gundam, sensing that someone was thinking about him. And as he did, Athrun heaved a sigh and sadly turned away from the photo, leaving his memories tacked to the board.

Phase 20: End

To the reviewers: Here's a fun little fact. If you look closely at the posters that advertise Siegel Clyne's campaign, the letters "GAT-X303" are written next to his head.


	22. Beyond the Clouds of Sand

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 21- Beyond the Clouds of Sand

_February 26_, _C.E. 71, Libya Desert_

The normally calm desert was full of activity today as ZAFT transport planes touched down near the Lesseps. Most of them contained a large, orange-red colored Mobile Suit that was bipedal and could convert its legs into caterpillar tracks. Each one was bristling with artillery weapons but despite this, Andrew Waltfield wasn't too happy about it.

"Geez, I ask for reinforcements from Gibraltar and those bastards send over these crappy ZuOOTs instead," he groaned, tossing the status report onto his desk, "Are the BuCUEs out of stock?"

"Yes sir," Dacosta nodded, "They said that they couldn't send any more over, but I think they're trying to compensate by sending in those two." He glanced outside at another plane that was touching down.

"They'll just get in the way," Waltfield frowned, "They've only got experience with space combat." As he said that, the hatch doors opened to reveal the Duel and Buster Gundams stored inside.

"I hear that the pilots are from the elite Creuset team…"

"I don't like Creuset's squad," Waltfield said, shaking his head, "I don't trust that guy one bit." Later, when all of the units had been unloaded, the Duel and Buster were placed on top of the Lesseps' hull before Yzak and Dearka climbed out of them. As they went to meet Waltfield, however, a powerful wind sprang up and a cloud of loose dust blew over them.

"What the hell is this?" Dearka muttered, shielding his face with his hand, "Crappy place…the desert…"

"Well, they say that you have to experience the desert first-hand to fully appreciate it," someone else replied and the two looked to see Waltfield himself approaching with Dacosta, "Welcome aboard, I'm the commander of the Lesseps, Andrew Waltfield."

"My name is Yzak Joule," Yzak nodded, snapping a crisp salute, "I'm from the Creuset Team."

"Dearka Elseman," Dearka added, saluting as well, "From the same division."

"It must've been rough, coming down here from space," Waltfield commented as he too saluted the two, "We welcome you."

"Thank you, sir," Yzak replied and lowered his hand.

"Hmm…a warrior who does not get rid of a treatable scar…" Waltfield said, referring to the injury on Yzak's face, "Means that he's planning revenge on the one who gave it to him." When Yzak looked away, he added, "And by turning away, it proves that you've suffered from humiliation as well."

"Moving on from that," Yzak frowned, changing the subject, "What's the Legged Ship up to?" Waltfield smiled and walked over to get a closer look at the Duel and Buster.

"The ship is currently about 180Km south-east from here, at the resistance's base," he replied, "We sent out an unmanned recon plane earlier, you wanna see the visuals?" When he received an odd look as an answer, he added as he looked at the Buster, "Hmm, so that one's a similar type. I see it resembles the other one a lot."

"Commander Waltfield, I heard that you fought against the Earth Forces Mobile Suits yourself," Dearka said, "What do you think of them?"

"Well, that's true," Waltfield nodded as he recalled his encounters with the Strike and X as well as their respective pilots, "I guess I'm not in any position to laugh at the Creuset Team after all." Turning, he added, "Why don't you guys come in? I'll explain the situation more there."

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Two days later, at the Desert Dawn's headquarters, the whole camp was in a rush to prepare for the final battle against the Waltfield Team. As the Archangel's thrusters warmed up, resistance fighters hurried around to get weapons and ammunition into the jeeps and assault vehicles.

"Hurry up! That goes over there!"

"There's no time!"

"Good, you guys go!" one rebel shouted when a vehicle was fully packed. Another one was saying goodbye to his family and realized that his was about to.

"I've got to go," he said and left.

"Daddy!" his son called out.

"You be careful!" his wife added.

"We can't afford to leave anything behind! Bring all of it!"

"But there's no more room!" As this was going on, Kisaka was loading a vehicle when he saw Cagalli talking to another woman. The same woman put something into her hands and Cagalli looked at it for a while. When everything was ready, the Archangel's thrusters burst to life and the ship lifted off out of the canyon.

"Let's go!" Sahib shouted and the entire brigade sped out of the canyon ahead of the Archangel. Meanwhile, the families of the resistance fighters watched anxiously as the men rushed off to battle.

"When's papa coming home?" one of the children asked. At the same time, Cagalli looked down at her hand and stared at the object that the woman had given her. It was a ping-pong ball-sized crystal that was a beautiful shade of turquoise and it gleamed brightly in the desert sun.

"What's that?" Kisaka asked her, curious.

"Ahmed's mother gave it to me," Cagalli sighed, "She told me that he was going to make something out of it for me someday…"

"Isn't that raw malachite diamond ore?" Kisaka blinked, "I've never seen a chunk that big before…" Cagalli frowned as she recalled Ahmed's last moments and clenched her hand into a fist around the precious stone. She remembered Waltfield's words to her about her eyes and her views on life.

"Dammit!" she swore, "To get killed by a bastard like him…" Meanwhile, back at the Lesseps, Waltfield himself had led the Yzak and Dearka onto the ship's bridge.

"So, have they started moving?" he asked the navigation's officer.

"Yes sir," the officer nodded, "They're headed north by north-west."

"The Legged Ship!" Yzak muttered, staring at the screen.

"Are they headed for the old Talbadiya factory?" Waltfield said and then grinned, "Heh, so that's how it is. If I were their commander, I'd do the same thing…."

"Commander…"

"Hmm, I wanted to wait a little longer, but it can't be helped now that they're on the move," Waltfield frowned.

"We're engaging them?" Yzak asked, a bit hopefully.

"Yeah," Waltfield nodded, "Prepare the Lesseps! We're moving out! Send word to the Petrie and Henry Carter!" Over in the Archangel, Ryo, Kira, and Mu were in the cafeteria eating with some of the other officers, although Kira was just picking at his food.

"What, you're still not finished? Hurry up and eat, kid," Mu said and put a kebab on Kira's tray, "Here, eat this too."

"Huh?" Kira blinked as he watched his superior officer and his fellow Mobile Suit pilot eat theirs.

"Mmm, nothing like the local cuisine before a battle," Mu smiled and took another bite out of his kebab.

"How can you still eat?" Kira asked, "And right before a sortie…"

"Well, we're gonna have fight soon," Mu shrugged, "We need to eat to get our strength." He then picked up the yogurt sauce bottle and handed it to Kira, "Here, the yogurt sauce is pretty good." Kira heaved a sigh, remembering that Waltfield had also been a yogurt sauce fanatic. "Something up?"

"Huh? Oh, no," Kira replied, shaking his head and Mu shrugged before putting the kebab back up to his mouth, "It's just…the Tiger said that yogurt sauce is better too…"

"Oh? He's got good taste, then," Mu said and took a bite out of his kebab, "But still, you'll be better off not knowing your enemy; just forget about it." When Kira looked at him in confusion, he added, "The more you know about someone you're trying to kill, the harder it is on you. It's just plain logic." Kira thought of this and then he remembered Athrun, which made him heave another sigh. Sensing an awkward situation, Ryo wolfed down the rest of his kebab and stood up.

"Hey guys, check this out," he said and when the two looked at him, he drew in a deep breath, swallowed it, almost gagged, and then belched as loud as he could, managing to hold it out for about five seconds. As the other officers looked at him oddly, Mu burst into a fit of laughter and Kira just stared while Ryo cleared his throat. "Um…excuse me…." Ryo grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh man…that was…that was so awesome…" Mu gasped between bursts of laughter, "I needed that…" Just then, the ship shook and the sound of an explosion was heard.

"What was that? A bombardment?"

"Is the battle starting?" On the bridge, Natarle looked over the situation and found out what was going on.

"That explosion came from where the resistance hid their mines," she announced and everyone looked at the view screens and saw thick clouds of smoke rising from the ground ahead of them. Down below, the Desert Dawn had stopped their vehicles and looking at the smoke nervously.

"Sahib!"

"Stay calm, we haven't been attacked yet!"

"All those mines…in one go…"

"Looks like the Tiger is finally showing off his fangs for real," Sahib frowned and shouldered his rocket launcher. Up ahead, the Lesseps was steadily gliding through the sand using its scale motors. Moments later, a land battleship glided up next to it.

"This is Petrie to Scorpion Team," the communications officer on the second ship said, "All units, please launch."

"What about Henry Carter's unit?" Dacosta asked.

"It's headed towards the assigned coordinates of D6," the navigations officer replied, "So far, no signs of enemy detection." Back in the Archangel, the three pilots were busy getting ready to sortie as the ship headed towards the factory. Mu, who was already prepared, was arguing with Murdoch over the speakers.

"Yes, that's what I said; Launcher on the first unit, Sword on the second," Mu frowned and then added as Kira closed his locker, "I'll tell you why; because it's easier for me to switch craft than it is to change equipment!" Shutting off the speaker, he turned to Kira and Ryo before saying, "As much as I'd hate to say this, we can't rely on the resistance fighters to help us. So we'll have to do what we can by ourselves."

"Okay," Kira nodded and Ryo also nodded to show his assent.

"But, if you guys keep up the good effort," Mu smiled as he walked past them, "Then we shouldn't have too much to worry about."

"Um, Mu…" Kira suddenly said and added when Mu looked at him, "What's a…Berserker? Do you know of the term?"

"Berserker?" Mu frowned, "It's a mythological warrior who goes crazy with rage when in battle."

"A crazed warrior?" Kira asked and even Ryo looked interested.

"Yeah, Berserkers were usually calm and well-mannered," Mu nodded, "But when they went into battle, they became completely different people." Kira and Ryo glanced at each other, both remembering the previous sorties in which their abilities nearly doubled. "Why do you ask?" Mu asked suddenly.

"Oh, um, it's nothing," Kira replied, "Sorry."

"Lieutenant Commander Flaga and Master Chief Yamato and Mouri, please report to the dock!" Miriallia's voice suddenly said over the loudspeakers and the three quickly rushed from the locker room. On the bridge, Kuzzey noticed multiple contacts on the sensors.

"The radar's acting up!" he called out.

"Multiple contacts confirmed on the radar!" Chandra added, "There are too many to count. Incoming at one o'clock! Two heat sources detected behind us! It's the Lesseps and another destroyer!"

"Anti-air, anti-ship, and anti-Mobile Suit combat stations! Commence attack!" Murrue ordered.

"Strike, X, and Skygrasper, launch!" Natarle added.

"Let's go!" Sahib shouted below, "We're gonna get the Tiger for sure this time! Got it?" A loud cheer went up from the brigade as the Desert Dawn sped forward to engage the enemy before spreading out while the Lesseps began launching its BuCUEs and Combat Helicopters. In the Archangel, Mu was readying the first Skygrasper for launch with the Launcher Striker pack attached to it while the catapult opened.

"Skygrasper One, la Flaga unit, proceed to catapult!" Miriallia said, "Course is clear, you're good to go, Lieutenant Commander!"

"Mu la Flaga launching Skygrasper!" Mu nodded and stepped on the accelerator, flying the craft out of the ship. Meanwhile, the Strike and X were loaded onto separate catapults.

"Initiating APU, catapult connected," Miriallia announced as the two Mobile Suits were locked down, "Strike will be going out with the Aile Striker. Aile Striker, standing by."

"Are you sure you're okay with the Aile?" Murdoch asked Kira.

"Yeah," Kira nodded, "I'll need the mobility more than the firepower against the BuCUEs."

"Alright."

"Systems, all green," Miriallia said as the equipment was attached to the Strike, "Go ahead, you two."

"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam, launching!"

"Ryo Mouri, X Gundam, taking off!" Both Mobile Suits were then propelled out of the ship but as soon as they did, the Combat Helicopters that had launched earlier turned their attention to them and fired their machine guns. Quickly, Kira used the Strike's shield to defend himself while Ryo dodged the shots before returning fire with their Igelstellung guns, shooting down three before landing with the Phase Shift Armor activated. Several more launched missiles at them but they were now useless against their armor. The Archangel opened fire with its own Igelstellungs and destroyed several more but a missile hit the ship near the bridge, shaking it violently. The lead BuCUE fired its railguns before they split apart before the Lesseps fired its forward dual cannons. One of the shots hit the catapult, which was now closed.

"Dammit," Mu swore, "You're not getting it that easily!" He swerved and shot at two helicopters with the Skygrasper's machine guns and destroyed them. "You guys handle the BuCUEs!" he ordered, "I'll take care of the Lesseps!"

"Roger that!"

"Lesseps is only 2000 meters behind us!"

"Don't let them get any closer!" Natarle ordered, "Fire the Helldart and Igelstellung! Valiant One, aim, fire!" The Archangel's port Valiant gun shot at the Lesseps but missed while it's CIWs and Helldart missiles fired at it as well.

"Hit them from the side!" Sahib shouted from where he was, "Slow down!" With that, the jeeps and assault vehicles scattered around the BuCUEs.

"How many BuCUEs are there, Mu?" Kira asked, "Four or five?"

"Looks like around five," Ryo answered, "Be careful not to hit the Desert Dawn's vehicles. Also, it looks like they've modified the BuCUEs a little, so watch out for that too." Kira took a closer look and saw what looked like a double-ended beam saber hilt fitted onto the BuCUEs' head where its mouth should have been. Meanwhile, back at the Lesseps, Waltfield and Aisha were in the dock, both dressed in their pilot suits. They were standing in front of what looked like a modified, orange BuCUE.

"Commander Waltfield!" someone called out to them and they turned to see Yzak and Dearka heading over to them, still in their pilot suits, "Why have we been stationed on the Lesseps' hull?"

"Hey now, are you allowed to complain about your orders in Creuset's team?" Waltfield asked.

"No, but we have more experience with these guys!" Yzak argued.

"But it's all loser's experience, right?" Aisha smiled jokingly, her hair tied back to better fit inside her helmet, and this hit Yzak's nerves hard.

"What was that?" he snarled.

"Aisha…" Waltfield said warningly, although there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Sorry," she nodded and stepped back.

"Listen, your Mobile Suits were both designed for artillery battles," Waltfield explained to the two pilots, "Down here, they won't be able to keep up with the BuCUEs."

"But…"

"Yzak, that's enough," Dearka frowned, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "He gave us an order. Excuse us, Commander." The two saluted Waltfield and walked away but as they did, he muttered to Yzak, "Don't sweat it. If it gets messy out there, you'll still have plenty of chances." At this, Yzak's frown turned into a satisfied smirk.

"Heh, such childish behavior," Waltfield grinned as he gripped the zip-cable, "No one else could do something like that." With that, he went up into the cockpit of the Mobile Suit and Aisha went after him, since this model had a two-seater cockpit. "Alright then," he nodded while Aisha made last minute touches to the targeting systems, "I'll leave the ship to you, Dacosta."

"Yes sir."

"Waltfield, LaGOWE, taking off!" The hatch opened and Waltfield took to the battle in his personal Mobile Suit. As soon as it hit the ground, it shifted its legs and used the caterpillar tracks beneath it to speed forward.

"Gottfried One and Two, aim, fire!" Natarle aimed, "Valiant One, follow up with two light rounds after three seconds!" Both of the Archangel's main cannons fired and the port Valiant gun fired two rounds soon afterward. Down on the ground, one of the Desert Dawn's jeeps was in trouble as it had a BuCUE speeding after it, despite the numerous rockets its occupants were shooting at it. Just when it seemed to be the end, however, the Strike suddenly landed on the BuCUE and shot it at point-blank range, destroying it.

"Who's next?" Kira shouted while Ryo flew the X over to a second BuCUE and impaled it with the X's oversized beam saber.

"The ECM and ECCM's power has dropped by seventeen percent!" Sai, who had been relieved of his punishment recently, called out from the CIC.

"The Valiant's gun barrel temperature has reached a critical level!" Pal said, "It's in danger of overheating!"

"Captain!" Natarle called out, "Requesting permission to use the Lohengrins!"

"Denied!" Murrue replied almost immediately, "We can't risk harming the environment or the ground troops with the radiation! Try to hold out by using the Valiant's power recharging cycle!"

"But…"

"That's an order!" Murrue frowned.

"Understood," Natarle nodded grudgingly. Down below, one of the jeeps managed to shoot down a Combat Helicopter only to get blown to pieces by another.

"Albert! Wejail!" Cagalli called out before her new driver veered aside to avoid another missile from a BuCUE, "Dammit." As she aimed her rocket launcher, Mu shot down another Combat Helicopter with the Skygrasper's beam cannon and then charged the Petrie.

"Take this!" he shouted and used the Launcher Striker pack's Hyper Impulse cannon to destroy a ZuOOT on the ship's hull.

"The engines are hit!" the communications officer announced, "Speed is down fifty percent!"

"Hurry up and extinguish the fires!" the captain ordered, "Then come about and get out of the enemy's firing range!"

"How can that craft have such powerful weapons?" Dacosta wondered out loud, "The Henry Carter is almost here, just hold on a bit longer!"

"That's weird," Mu thought as he veered around for a second run, "I didn't think they'd fall for our plan so easily. Is it really this simple to beat the Desert Tiger? Or does he have some other kind of hidden strategy?"

"Where's the Lesseps?" Murrue asked.

"It's still a little ways back," Pal replied, "About 2000 meters away from us."

"Good, everything's going to plan," Murrue nodded. Meanwhile, Kira had just finished slicing a BuCUE right through the middle with the Strike's beam saber and then spotted another. As soon as the Strike landed, Kira had it throw its beam saber at the BuCUE, sinking the blade into its camera up to the hilt. Just as it fired a salvo of missiles at the Strike, he aimed and fired the Strike's beam rifle, destroying the BuCUE even as another charged him. Ducking down, he allowed the missiles to detonate behind the Strike before charging the BuCUE in return. Once it was close enough, Strike dodged a shot from its railguns before drawing its leg back and kicking the BuCUE's head off. Then, as it passed over the headless BuCUE, Kira aimed and fired directly at where its cockpit was, turning it into a fireball as it landed.

"Wahoo! Nice moves you've got there, Kira!" Mu cheered.

"Hey, Kira!" Ryo laughed, "Try and save some for me, huh?"

"That's three more," he though, breathing heavily. All of a sudden, he recalled Waltfield's question of how a winner was decided in a war. "Dammit, can't get distracted…" All of a sudden, missiles hit the Archangel from behind, shaking the bridge.

"The radar's detecting severe heat again!" Tonomura called out, "It's another destroyer….right behind us!"

"Another ship?" Natarle grimaced, "It's an ambush!" As she said that, the Henry Carter appeared from behind a cliff and fired it's main cannon.

"The Archangel!" Kira exclaimed but then had to dodge as two beams of lime green energy lanced through the air, barely missing the Strike. Then, what appeared to be an orange blur raced by him and skidded to a stop, kicking up a large sand cloud. When it settled, Kira and Ryo saw the oddest looking BuCUE that they had ever seen.

"Hey there, you two hotshots," Waltfield said to them, "You've gotta fight me now." As the three faced off, the Henry Carter fired again.

"Enemy bombardment, on course for a direct hit at six o'clock!"

"Evade it!" Murrue shouted.

"Shoot it down!" Natarle ordered. It was too late, one shot slammed into its starboard missile launchers and the other hit the starboard Valiant container. The resulting force caused the Archangel to plunge sideways to the left and its wing slammed into one of the old factory facilities. Down below, Cagalli's jeep pulled up to where the Archangel was now stuck and the said blonde stood up to get a better look.

"The Archangel…"

"It'll be a sitting duck like this," Kisaka frowned, "What're those two Mobile Suits doing?" Just then, Cagalli jumped out of the van and made a beeline for the ship, "Cagalli!" Before Kisaka could do anything, though, a missile detonated a few meters away from the jeep and distracted him, "Cagalli!"

"Dammit!" Mu swore as he swerved to avoid gunfire, "Not bad, Mister Tiger!" Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were struggling to keep up with Waltfield's LaGOWE in battle. With its head-mounted sabers already activated, it fired the beam cannons that were mounted on its back at the Strike, forcing Kira to deflect the shots with its shield. Flying off, Strike turned and fired several times at the LaGOWE but none managed to hit it before it disappeared behind a sand dune.

"That's not a BuCUE, it must be the command unit," Kira frowned, "Is it his…?"

"Kira, be careful, I've heard rumors about that model," Ryo said, "It's ZAFT's new LaGOWE; they're supposed to be replacing the BuCUEs soon. It's still in the pre-production stage, so there aren't that many out, but they're only assigned to the best. I hear that they're designed to carry two people; one drives and the other shoots. Judging from the way it's moving, I'd say it's Waltfield who's piloting, but then…who's the gunner?" After thinking for a bit, he then muttered, "No way…it couldn't be that woman from the other day…?" His thoughts were interrupted when the LaGOWE suddenly reappeared and fired at the two again, forcing them to take cover behind their shields while it sped past them.

"Oh my, they _are_ good!" Aisha remarked, the targeting visor over her eyes.

"Yeah, and they're fighting with a cool head today," Waltfield nodded, "You should've seen them when they were really going at it, unbelievable."

"You're sounding pretty excited," Aisha smiled and then added when Waltfield frowned, "It's difficult for you, isn't it, Andy? You're quite fond of them, aren't you?"

"You think they'll surrender?" Waltfield asked.

"Not a chance," Aisha replied and clicked the trigger. The X flew aside while Strike blocked the beams with its shield and then flew up. The LaGOWE followed and dodged the shots that the Strike sent at it before slamming into its shield. Drawing its front leg back, it slammed it into the side of the Strike's head piece and sent it plummeting to the ground. Kira managed to use the Aile Striker to stop the Strike from crashing just in time before it hit the ground. Just then, Kira and Ryo heard a beeping sound coming from their control panels and saw that their batteries were starting to drain.

"My power's getting low…" Kira thought, "I'd better be careful." Meanwhile, the Archangel was still stuck and taking heavy fire from the three ships.

"Load the Corinthos and Helldarts!" Natarle ordered, "Fire!" The Archangel launched its missiles but they were stopped before they could hit the Lesseps by the Mobile Suits on its hull.

"Th-this is…" Tonomura stuttered, "I've picked up the signals of the Duel and Buster from the Lesseps' hull!"

"What?"

"Engage the thrusters and ascend!" Murrue ordered, "We can't use the Gottfrieds in this position!"

"I'm trying!" Neumann replied, "But something's inhibiting the ship's movements! The wing must be caught on something!" Just as the ship took another hit, Cagalli ran into the dock where the second Skygrasper was sitting with the Sword Striker pack attached to it.

"Hey! What're you doing in here?" Murdoch asked.

"How can you leave fighter craft inside the ship like this?" Cagalli shouted as she climbed into the cockpit and started it up, "I'm taking it out!"

"Oh no you're not!" Murdoch argued but it was too late, she had already closed the cockpit and was using the vertical thrusters to hover inside the dock.

"Get out of the way, I'm going!" Cagalli said, "Open up the hatch!"

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Good God, kids these days!" Murdoch growled, "Open the hatch!" The catapult opened up and as soon as it did, Cagalli flew the Skygrasper out of the dock. "Don't come crying to me if you get shot down, you hear!" Murdoch shouted after her.

"Skygrasper Two has just launched!" Miriallia announced.

"What?"

"Hey, who's in the other Skygrasper?" Mu asked, opening a video link to the bridge.

"I just got word from maintenance," Miriallia said, "It looks like the pilot is Miss Cagalli!"

"What?" Meanwhile, Mu and Cagalli had flown the two Skygraspers over to the Henry Carter and had destroyed two of its guns with their beam cannons.

"We've got to take this thing out!" Cagalli told Mu, "The Lesseps is closing in for the kill!"

"Wahoo! 'Atta girl!" Mu laughed, "Let's get 'um."

"What? I thought they only had one fighter craft," Dacosta blinked, "Commander!" On the hull of the Lesseps, Duel and Buster were firing at the Archangel but so far, they were unable to land a hit.

"God dammit!" Dearka swore, "The weapons' attenuation factor suck! Is this all they can do in the atmosphere?"

"Dearka, let's move in on the Legged Ship and attack!" Yzak said.

"But we were ordered not to…"

"Screw the damn orders!" Yzak frowned, "Do you want to be a sitting duck?" With that, Yzak gunned the Duel's thrusters before Dearka could stop him and leaped off of the ship. Meanwhile, Strike and X were still fighting against the LaGOWE and though they were starting to get the hang of it, they were still struggling.

"This is crazy!" Ryo grimaced as he fired the X's beam rifle at the LaGOWE and Strike did the same, "That thing's faster than the BuCUEs! I can barely even track this guy!" Just then, the LaGOWE leaped over the Strike and shot at it from behind. Kira barely managed to get the Strike's shield between himself and the shots.

"Yes," Waltfield grinned, "I think someone's about to run out of power soon!" As this was going on, Yzak was trying to get the Duel to walk up a sand dune. As soon as it reached the top, however, it slid all the way back down to the bottom.

"Dammit," he said, "What the hell are I stepping in?" Up above, Mu destroyed a Combat Helicopter with the Agni and Cagalli used the grappling shield attached to the bottom of her Skygrasper to latch onto the Henry Carter. Using the ship as a center, she ignited the Schwert Gewer anti-ship sword and flew around the ship, slicing off its main gun and all of the cannons on its port side.

"How's that?" she laughed but at that moment, it deployed three missile tubes and fired. The first two missed the Skygrasper but the third hit its right weapons bay. "Shit!" Cagalli swore and struggled to regain control of the craft as it headed for the ground.

"Gotcha!" Mu shouted and fired the Agni, destroying the Henry Carter's bridge. Meanwhile, the Lesseps and the ZuOOT units on it score another hit on the Archangel. Sparks flew from the control panel in front of Miriallia and she drew back in fear, screaming a bit; Tolle struggled to stay in his seat as the bridge shook violently.

"They've made a direct hit to the M.S. catapult's starboard side!" Pal called out, "Sensor array number two has been hit as well!" As he said that, the Buster combined its weapons to form its anti-armor shotgun and aimed it at the Archangel.

"Dammit," Dearka said, "Just die already!" With that, he fired the weapon but fortunately, the rounds went wide one happened to hit the object that was pinning the Archangel down.

"He missed!" Neumann smiled and pulled the Archangel up.

"Turn starboard sixty degrees!" Murrue ordered, "Natarle!"

"Aim the Gottfried!" Natarle said, "Align them with the Lesseps' cannons!"

"Damn that Legged Ship," Waltfield muttered, "It's practically invincible!"

"It's starting to get dangerous, Andy," Aisha warned.

"Fire!" Natarle ordered and the Archangel shot at the Lesseps with its own cannons, destroying one of its dual cannons in front and the one on the back, forcing the Buster to jump as well.

"Well," Dearka said, "So much for the Desert Tiger…" Just then, gravity caught up with him and the Buster sank into the sand up to its ankles and keeled onto its knees. Far off, Cagalli watched from beside the downed Skygrasper while Kisaka ran up to her. Back on the Archangel's bridge, Murrue was contemplating a new plan.

"How far are we from the abandoned water reserves?" she asked.

"It'll take about five minutes to reach it from our current position," Natarle replied, "But why?"

"I'm going to give Master Chief Mouri's plan a try," Murrue said, "Besides, this will put some distance between us and the Lesseps."

"Captain, we don't know if there's even any water left there!" Natarle argued, "And the chance that it will actually work…"

"It's worth a try!" Murrue frowned, "Crewman Second Class Haw, contact Master Chief Mouri. Tell him to fall back and follow us."

"Ryo, return to the ship!" Miriallia called out, "We're moving over to the water reserves!"

"They're actually gonna try it?" Ryo blinked before saying, "Understood, I'm on my way. Kira, I've gotta go take care of something, so you'll be on your own for now. Can you take this guy on your own?"

"Roger that," Kira nodded, "I can handle it."

"Then good luck," Ryo said and gunned the X's thrusters before flying back to the Archangel.

"That guy's retreating?" Waltfield wondered, "Well then, in that case…" All of a sudden, Kira aimed the Strike's beam rifle and fired to cover Ryo as the LaGOWE shot at the X. And through a stroke of luck, the beam lanced through its left foreleg and separated it from the rest of the body.

"He's gonna get us!" Aisha warned, "Be careful!"

"I know…" Waltfield nodded and somehow managed to keep driving the LaGOWE on its remaining three legs, charging the Strike. Aisha fired and managed to shoot the Strike's beam rifle out of its hand, destroying the weapon.

"I gotta say, Miss Aisha," Ryo said, having watched it happen, "You're one hell of a shot!"

"I'm flattered," Aisha laughed even as Waltfield charged the Strike with its sabers. Kira drew the Strike's remaining saber and swung it at the LaGOWE as it passed by. The result was that the Strike lost one of its stabilizer wings and the LaGOWE had its beam cannons severed from its back.

"Fire the Valiant!" Natarle ordered and the port Valiant gun shot two rounds at the Lesseps, both hitting the ship. Meanwhile, Dearka was also attempting what Yzak had done with the Duel and was trying to make it up a sand dune. Unfortunately for him, the Buster was just about as heavy, if not heavier, than the Duel and he wasn't making much progress.

"This isn't good," Dearka muttered to himself, "Shit…" A few meters away from him, Yzak was being harassed by the Desert Dawn vehicles that kept making hit-and-run trips around the Duel.

"Those bastards," he snarled, "If I could just keep steady…" As another round blinded his cameras temporarily, the Lesseps was starting to show major signs of damage.

"Blocks four and nine have been destroyed! Block three is critically damaged!" the communications officer said, "Fires have been detected! Both the engine and shock motors have stopped! There's no word from Henry Carter!"

"Crap…" Dacosta swore, "Is this the end…?"

"The Legged Ship has begun moving! Petrie is pursuing it!" As this was happening, Kira glanced down at his power meter and saw that he didn't have much left.

"Dacosta!" Waltfield suddenly said.

"S-sir?"

"Send out the order to retreat immediately."

"Commander!"

"The winner has already been decided," Waltfield added, "I'll buy you some time to gather up all remaining troops and fall back to Banadiya. Then, notify Gibraltar."

"Commander…!" Waltfield cut off the transmission before he could get any more out.

"You too, Aisha," he said to his gunner, "Get out of here."

"I'd sooner lay down my life," Aisha declared confidently.

"So I guess this means…" Waltfield sighed, "That we're both idiots…"

"I can live with that," Aisha giggled and flipped the targeting visor over her eyes.

"Alright then," Waltfield nodded, "Let's get 'im!" With that, he charged the Strike recklessly.

"Mister Waltfield!" Kira called out, "Don't do this!"

"I ain't done with you yet, kid!" Waltfield replied.

"Please, stop this!" Kira begged, "The battle's over now, surrender!" Waltfield's reply was to have the LaGOWE leap at the Strike and managed to slice off its other stabilizer wing.

"You're too naïve to be a warrior!" Waltfield said, "I already told you that there's no definite way to end a war!"

"But isn't there some other way we can do this?" Kira asked, "I mean, that other day…"

"On the battlefield, you fire at your opponent no matter who they are!" Waltfield told him, "He who hesitates first is bound to lose, kid!" Meanwhile, the Archangel had reached the designated point and slowly lured the Petrie over to it.

"Come on…" Ryo thought, "Just a little more…"

"Ryo," someone said to him and he looked to see that Miriallia had opened up a video link to him, "Whatever idea you came up with, I sure hope it works."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Ryo replied, "But don't worry, I'm confident in this plan…sort of…." Finally, the Petrie was above the reserve and the X flew towards it, drawing its saber. In a single motion, it jammed the blade into the side of the ship and dragged it through the hull, leaving a decently sized gash. "Now for the hard part…" he thought, "Please let this work…." He deployed the X's Scylla Cannon and took aim at the ground before pulling the trigger with a fierce war cry. The blast hit the ground and two more followed it. At first, it seemed that nothing had happened but then, the ground began to tremble a bit before a geyser of dirty water shot from the hole, splashing against the ship. Thanks to the hull in its armor, the water streamed into its interior, flooding the corridors and weighing the ship down. Eventually, the water reached the engine room and disabled the mechanism, rendering the Petrie completely immobile. Even as Ryo heaved a sigh relief and content, his chest throbbed painfully and he gripped it, confused. "What the…" he grunted, "Again? What the hell is up with this?"

"It worked!" Murrue smiled as the rest of the bridge crew cheered.

"Whatever, I'll deal with it later…" Ryo thought, "I'd better get back to Kira and see how he's doing…" Speaking of Kira, he was now trying to keep up with the desperate Waltfield by himself. However, even though they were enemies, Kira couldn't bring himself to attack him. Even when the damaged section of the torso where the beam cannons used to be exploded a bit, causing sparks to fly in the cockpit and distracted the two, Kira still didn't attack him.

"Mister Waltfield, please!" Kira begged, "Stop this!"

"There's no other way. I'm not gonna stop fighting…" Waltfield said, "Until one of us is destroyed!" The LaGOWE leaped at the Strike and missed, getting one of its stabilizers cut off. "Even though he could've killed me right there," he thought, "All he did was cut off my stabilizer. They call me the Desert Tiger and yet…he acts as if I'm not a real threat…"

"Mister Waltfield…!" Kira started but just then, a long beeping sound caught his attention and he looked down just as the last of his energy drained itself out. As soon as it did, the Strike's beam saber deactivated itself and its Phase Shift Armor faded out into grey.

"You hesitated when you could've gotten me!" Waltfield growled, "That's gonna cost you your life!" As the LaGOWE charged the Strike once more, Kira saw the strange seed in his mind burst open again and the LaGOWE suddenly seemed to move in slow motion to him. Quickly, he tossed the Strike's shield aside and ejected the Aile Striker pack from its back before drawing one of its Armor Schneider knives. As soon as it had a firm grip on it, the Strike rushed at the charging LaGOWE and raised the knife above its head. The LaGOWE hit the Strike head-on in the torso just as the Strike plunged the knife into the LaGOWE's already damaged back. The force of the collision sent the Strike crashing into the ground while the LaGOWE's sabers flickered off and it collapsed into a heap, the knife still stuck in its back.

"Andy!" Aisha cried and climbed over the back of her seat while Waltfield got out of his own and managed to catch her in his arms. A moment later, a bright light issued from the "wound" and the LaGOWE exploded in a ball of fire. It was around now that Ryo returned in the X, its battery drained as well, and landed next to the Strike, which was lying on its side.

"Kira!" he called out, "You okay in there?"

"I…I…" Kira stuttered and his voice was heavy, "I didn't….I didn't want it to end this way!" Ryo heaved a sigh and looked over to where the LaGOWE was lying just a moment ago; now all that remained was a thick column of smoke.

"Come on," Ryo finally said as the Archangel drew closer, "Let's get back to the ship and leave this battlefield behind us."

Phase 21: End


	23. The Sea Dyed Red

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 22- The Sea Dyed Red

_March 3, C.E. 71, Libya Desert_

With the reign of the Desert Tiger finally over, the desert was at a reasonable peace at last. If anyone had cared to look, they would have seen the magnificent warship, the Archangel, gliding lazily over the sand. Soon, it entered a wide canyon, shading the ship from the fierce sunlight. "We're entering the Red Sea!" Neumann announced and a moment later, the ship left the canyon and came across a beach. Further on was the ocean, stretching out farther than the eye could see.

"Whoa!" Tolle exclaimed as Kuzzey leaned to the side of his seat to get a better look. As the ship entered the waters, a few dolphins leaped out of the water around it, curious of the new object that had gone into their territory. The entire bridge crew took the moment to look at the ocean as the rest of the crew looked through whatever window or view screen that they could find.

"Anyone who wants to take a short break on the deck may do so in short shifts," Murrue told them, "Please tell the rest of the crew while you're at it." A small cheer went up amongst the bridge crew as they rejoiced at the thought of a short break.

"You go on and take a break first," Neumann said to Tolle.

"Really? Thanks!"

"Chief Petty Officer Murdoch," Natarle said into her headset, "How are the preparations for the sonar coming along?"

"We're working on it," Murdoch replied, "The kids are making the final calibrations as we speak, it shouldn't take much longer."

"Please hurry. And also…" Natarle frowned, "I don't think it's very appropriate to call people who are of higher rank than you 'kids'." She added as Murdoch cringed and the others looked on in amusement, "Be aware that this show's you're not abiding by the ranking system." With that, she cut off and some of the officers on the bridge chuckled a bit.

"Well, you heard the lady," Murdoch sighed, "She wants you guys to pick up the pace."

"Yeah, easy for her to say," Ryo grumbled as he looked up from the laptop on Kira's lap, "She's probably never even touched this kind of stuff before."

"It's not that simple," Kira agreed, "This is ZAFT's equipment…trying to install it into our own is kind of hard…"

"Well," Mu laughed and thumped them both on the shoulder, "It's about time you had a real challenge, huh?"

"Ouch!" Ryo winced and rubbed his arm, "Could you not do that? It's still sore."

"Still?" Kira blinked, looking up from his work, "But Ryo, you bruised your arm two days ago."

"Correction," Ryo grumbled, "You and the others bruised my arm. Those extra punches for 'good luck' weren't any help at all."

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_Two days ago_

"Where is he?" Ryo frowned, looking around, "I thought Kira told me to meet him in here." Looking around, he noticed that there was a door open and he walked closer to see that it was his room. "How do I know where this is going?" he sighed when he saw that the lights were out and he saw something that looked like a shoe under his bed. "Okay, nice try, guys," Ryo said, "But you're not getting me that easy. Come on out." To his surprise, however, no one answered, not even when he turned the light on. "Guys, come on, don't even try," he frowned and bent down to look under the bed, "I can see your…feet?" Ryo blinked in confusion; he had seen a shoe alright but when he had bent down to look, he had discovered that it was, in fact, just a shoe. "Weird, this is one of Kira's," he said, picking it up and inspecting it, "How did it get in here?" He thought for a bit and then muttered, "Oh for the love of…Kira, if you slept with Flay in _my_ bed when I wasn't here, I'm gonna…"

"SURPRISE!" Ryo swore that he felt his heart stop and almost dropped the shoe when he heard several voices shout behind him, "Happy Birthday!" He turned to find his friends standing in the adjacent room, laughing at his reaction. At first, he felt annoyed, but then his irritation melted into amusement and he couldn't help but chuckle along with them.

"Okay, you got me there," he smiled and held his hands up in defeat, "Real funny, guys."

"You bet it was!" Tolle laughed as they left the room and went into his, "Just watching you talk to thin air…I was just about ready to burst before we jumped out."

"You've gotta admit, it was good," Sai smiled, "Putting Kira's shoe in your room where you could see it to make you think we were here and all."

"I'll admit, it was pretty clever," Ryo nodded, "Keep it up and you might be like me someday." The others laughed at this before Tolle got a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Hey, Ryo," he said, "You know what we do on birthdays, right?"

"Um," Ryo blinked, "Eat cake?"

"Besides that," Tolle replied dismissively and looked at the others, "It's time for my favorite part about birthdays." As Ryo started to see where this was headed, Tolle added, along with Sai and Kuzzey, "Birthday Punches!"

"Great…" Ryo groaned and put his face in his palm, "How did I know?"

"Hold still," Tolle said and that was how Ryo ended up standing there for a good three minutes while everyone in the room gave him a jab in the arm. By the time they were done, his arm was feeling quite sore since all of them had insisted on adding an eighteenth punch each for "good luck". Frankly, Ryo had never really believed that an extra punch would do that. Also, Ryo had learned the hard way that Cagalli was a lot stronger than she looked, since she had hit the hardest. "Okay, now the other arm!" Tolle declared when Miriallia had gotten hers in.

"No freakin' way!" Ryo exclaimed, "In case you don't know, I like being able to use my arms properly without having them hurt whenever I move them!" With that, he dashed out of the room and Tolle followed, resulting in everyone else going after them. When he got outside, however, he saw that everyone was who wasn't taking a stroll was either sitting around a fire or dancing like an idiot.

"Sheesh, first chance they get and everyone goes and gets wasted," Ryo blinked, "Oh well, they're the ones who're gonna have the hang-over…crap!" He ducked behind a rock and quickly looked around for a hiding place as the others ran past him.

"Hey look!" an officer laughed, looking up at the sky, "There's the moon!" The people around him laughed and raised their mugs, giving a drunken toast to the moon. Having defeated the Desert Tiger only yesterday, the entire Desert Dawn was celebrating, along with the crew of the Archangel.

"To us, the Desert Dawn!" Sahib smiled and raised his mug to the three senior officers, who were all standing inside the headquarters.

"And to the future that we've taken back!" Murrue added, raising her own.

"Well then," Mu laughed as Natarle and himself raised their glasses, "Cheers!" They tapped their mugs together before downing the contents. However, Natarle gagged halfway and went into a coughing fit, while Murrue forced hers down and sighed contentedly, inciting a laugh from Sahib; both women already had a pinkish tinge on their cheeks. "You know, it's still going to be difficult for you guys," Mu pointed out as Natarle kept coughing, "Just because the Tiger's gone doesn't mean that ZAFT is gonna pull out. They still want those mines, so it's only a matter of time before the next big enemy shows up."

"When that time comes, then we'll fight again," Sahib replied firmly, picking up an assault rifle, "We'll keep fighting against those who would dare to take advantage against us." Just then, Ryo came running into the headquarters and ducked under the table next to Mu.

"Ryo?" Mu asked, "What're you…"

"If anyone asks, pretend that I'm not here," Ryo said and at that moment, Tolle came in as well, with the others behind him.

"What is it, Crewman Second Class Koenig?" Murrue asked.

"Have any of you seen Ryo?" Tolle asked, "I thought I saw him go this way."

"I-" Natarle started but Mu nudged her in the ribs to shut her up.

"No, I don't think so," he replied and Ryo silently let out a sigh of relief from where he was hiding, "Any particular reason why?"

"Well, you see, it's his birthday, sir," Tolle said, a bit nervously, "And, well, we still owe him…uh…his birthday punches…"

"Oh? Well then, why didn't you just say so?" Mu laughed and reached under the table. Ryo saw this and tried to get away but Mu got a secure grip on his collar and pulled him up.

"Ow!" Ryo exclaimed as his head hit the bottom of the table and he stood up, rubbing the back of his head before turning his back on Mu and adding a low tone, "Traitor…"

"So, it's your birthday, huh?" Mu smiled, "How old?"

"He's seventeen, sir," Sai answered and Ryo gave him a chilling glare.

"Seventeen? Alright," Mu nodded and rolled his sleeves further up, "Well, gotta follow tradition."

"Oh hell, you too?" Ryo groaned as Mu took aim. A minute later, he was rubbing his now very sore left arm and Mu was dusting his hands off. "Gee, thanks a lot, Mu," Ryo said sarcastically and winced, "I think I've got internal bleeding in my arm now, my whole upper arm is swelling up."

"Did I really hit you that hard?" Mu asked, a bit surprised.

"It hurts like a bitch," Ryo frowned, "And that's saying something considering that I'm a Coordinator and all."

"Here," Sahib said and handed him a mug, "This will help."

"No thanks, I don't drink," Ryo replied, shaking his head.

"Ah, come on, kid, it's your birthday," Mu said, "Besides, you just got promoted today! One drink to celebrate can't hurt." Ryo sighed, remembering that. Both Kira and himself had been promoted to the rank of Ensign for their exploits in the battle; Ryo for coming up with the water-attack strategy and Kira for single-handedly defeating Waltfield in combat.

"Let's not encourage him, Lieutenant Commander," Natarle frowned, "He's still to young."

"Relax," Mu smiled, waving dismissively, "It's just a pint. So, how about it, kid?"

"Hmm, maybe a little," Ryo shrugged and took the mug, "Well…bottoms up…" He took a gulp and almost immediately afterward, he spat it back out and started coughing heavily like Natarle had before, except he hadn't even managed to swallow his.

"Wow," Mu remarked as Ryo regained his composure and set the mug back on the table, "He's worse than you, Badgiruel." At that moment, Yaru came in as well and went over to Sahib, ignoring the others.

"Dad," he said, "Elder said that he's gonna do a ceremony to send off the dead warriors." Sahib nodded and later, when everyone was outside, a resistance fighter fired off a single round from an anti-air cannon as the others bowed their heads in silent prayer.

"Ajibu Sham Seiran," the elder muttered, "Ahmed El Honz. Al Gauari. Stein Hoffer. Tom Don Gonga. Stefan Lindberger. Rohaj Asad…." As he quietly muttered the names of deceased fighters, Natarle slowly brought her up her hand and saluted the fallen. Yaru stood by two other boys while the students crowded around in back.

"So," Mu said quietly, "They'll just keep fighting, huh?"

"Robin Tarcoff," the elder continued, "Harha Pinlad. Usaru Haraba…" He went on as the smoke from the gun hazed through the night sky. The next day, everyone was hurrying about to get the Archangel ready for departure. Amongst the happenings was Cagalli arguing with Murrue about accompanying them.

"That's exactly why you should take me with you!" she said while Sahib, Mu, and Natarle watched, "I know what's going on here on Earth better than you people. Besides, I can help you guys out if you run into problems with supplies or stuff like that!"

"I appreciate that, but…"

"Look, I'm not asking to hitch a ride all the way to Alaska or anything," Cagalli pointed out, "I'm not even thinking about joining the Earth Forces. You need me now, don't you?"

"Huh?" Mu blinked as Kisaka opened a box near him, "We need you? Really?"

"Well, I mean…that's…" Cagalli stammered and then got a hold of herself, "I can help out, okay?"

"Well, even if you say 'help'…" Murrue started but Mu interrupted.

"Yeah, a real Goddess, huh?" he asked, a bit of humor in his voice.

"Anyway, I'm going with you guys," Cagalli said firmly, "I've already made up my mind." With that, she walked off with Sahib, leaving the three senior officers to watch.

"What kind of person is she, exactly?" Mu asked Kisaka, who's reply was to put the equipment back into the box and close it.

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_The present day_

"Ahh…this feels great!" Miriallia sighed contentedly as she leaned against the railing, her uniform top unbuttoned to let her feel the breeze more. She was up on the ship's deck along with Tolle and Kuzzey, as well as some other crew members who were taking a break to enjoy the view while the ship cruised now through the water like a giant boat.

"The Earth's ocean," Tolle said as he ran around a bit, he had discarded his uniform top completely, "It's really been a while since the last time I've seen it…" He went over to join Miriallia at the railing and Kuzzey did as well, his uniform in the same fashion as Miriallia's.

"I guess it's nice," Kuzzey nodded, "But for some reason, it's kind of weird seeing it…"

"Oh, that's right," Tolle smiled, looking over at him, "This is your first time seeing the ocean, isn't it, Kuzzey? Since you were born on Heliopolis."

"Yeah," Kuzzey said, "I was even surprised when I saw the desert. But now when I think about it, this place looks a lot scarier…I've heard that there are parts of the ocean that get really deep, right?" Tolle nodded in assent.

"Yup," Miriallia nodded and added in a scarier tone, a sinister grin spreading across her face, "There's also supposed to be monsters living down there too."

"Huh?"

"Oh come on, Milly," Tolle laughed as Kuzzey looked up, startled, "You're scaring him!" Miriallia laughed too while Kuzzey pouted a bit before noticing that Tiffa had also climbed up onto the deck.

"Tiffa! Over here!" she called out, waving to the younger girl.

"Oh, hello, Milly!" Tiffa smiled when she saw them, "Tolle, Kuzzey. Wow, so this is Earth's ocean?"

"Oh yeah, it's your first time too, right?" Miriallia asked, "Since you were born up in PLANT."

"Yes, that's right," Tiffa nodded and stared at the water, "It's beautiful…look! Over there!" The three of them looked at where she was pointing and saw a school of flying fish leaping gracefully out of the water and gliding a few feet before splashing back in nearby.

"Whoa, cool!" Tolle exclaimed and leaned over for a better view..

"Careful, Tolle!" Miriallia said and grabbed onto his arm to prevent him from going over, "Lean any further and you'll fall right off the ship!" While Tolle was being chided for his recklessness, Kisaka was on the bridge talking to Murrue.

"Still, I'm not too fond of the Earth Forces," he frowned, "Telling you to get to Alaska on your own without giving you any supplies first. You don't have much to worry about in terms of water and food, but it's best if you avoided battle as much as possible."

"True, but it'll be difficult to do that if we're cutting through the Indian Ocean," Natarle replied as she came up to them, "If something does occur, we won't even have a place to run to."

"I don't think that ZAFT is planning any expansion warfare just yet," Kisaka said, "The middle of the ocean is where their thinner defenses are located. Everything else is up to luck." With that, he left the bridge. Meanwhile, Kira was also taking a break but rather than going to the upper deck, he went to the one behind the bridge instead. He found it deserted when he opened the door, shielding his eyes from the sun. His uniform top over his slung over his shoulder, he walked onto the deck and set it down before sitting on the floor. As he gazed absentmindedly at the sun, he watched a few seagulls cry out overhead while a cloud passed over the sun before his thoughts shifted. He recalled his first face-to-face encounter with Waltfield, where he had talked about the importance of yogurt sauce going with kebabs, and then to his lecture about the proper name for the fossil on the stone Evidence 01 before going over to his question on how to properly decide the winner in a war. He then remembered their final duel where he had said that the only way to end the fight was for one of them to be destroyed. His thoughts drifted to Mu's description of Berserkers, normally gentle people who turned into crazed killing machines when fighting.

"But if I don't fight…" Kira thought, putting his face in his arms and resting them on his knees, "If I don't destroy them….then everyone…" He remembered the destruction of the Montgomery and Flay's reaction to her father's death; he recalled the civilian shuttle exploding before his own eyes as the lives of the people he had sworn to protect went up in flames. Suddenly, he looked back up and saw only the calm ocean, nothing like the nightmares of the past. "I didn't want to kill you…why, Mr. Waltfield?" he muttered, putting his face in his hands, "I know you felt the same way…so why…" As he thought of this, silent tears ran down his face before he heard the door open behind him.

"Oh, you're out here too, huh?" he heard someone ask and he turned to see Cagalli walking up to him, now without her Kevlar vest, "I didn't think anyone else would be here, the view's no good." Getting up, he looked up at the sky and then sighed heavily, looking down so that his hair covered his eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, now next to him, "Were you…crying?" Instead of answering, he turned away and started to walk back but then Cagalli grabbed his wrist, "Wait!" He turned to look at her and when she saw the hurt look in his eyes, her face softened a bit and she let go. Kira was about to walk away again when she suddenly moved in front of him and stopped him. As he looked at her in a puzzled way, she suddenly pulled him into a protective embrace.

"W-wha…?" Kira blinked, surprised by the sudden gesture of affection.

"There, there, it's alright…" Cagalli muttered in an assuring way, stroking his back, "It's okay…everything'll be alright…" Kira gradually relaxed, having recovered from the initial shock, before she let go. "There," she smiled, "Better now?"

"Um, yeah," Kira nodded.

"My mom used to hold me like that when I used to cry as a little kid," Cagalli told him, "And somehow, it always seemed to make everything okay again."

"Yeah, it does," Kira said and blushed a little, "Thanks." Just then, the two heard someone yawning off of the deck and all of a sudden, Ryo sat up just outside the railing, where it looked like he had just been sleeping.

"Hey, hey…" he groaned, rubbing his eyes, "What's the racket out here…?" He looked over at Kira and Cagalli before blinking a bit, as if unsure of what he was seeing. "So," Ryo said, smirking a bit, "This is the real reason why you came with us, huh, Cagalli?" The two blinked in confusion before looking down, only to find that Cagalli was still holding onto Kira's hands.

"I-it's not what you think! I don't like him like that!" Cagalli argued, pulling away from him, blushing as her temper heated up a little, "I just can't leave a crying kid alone like that…so…"

"Whoa, take it easy! I was just kidding, you know," Ryo laughed and stood up, picking up his uniform top before vaulting back over the railing and onto the deck, "I'm sure it was just a friendly gesture…" His voice trailed off when he studied the faces of his two friends closely, frowning as if disturbed.

"What?" Kira asked, "What is it?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing," Ryo said, shaking his head, "It's just that…I've just noticed just how much you guys look….so similar…"

"Similar?" Kira blinked, looking at Cagalli and then back at Ryo, "How?"

"Come with me," Ryo told them, climbing back over the railing, "I'll show you."

"Um, Ryo," Kira said a bit nervously as he went over to the railing and Cagalli followed, "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Hey, I managed to take a nap on here without falling off," Ryo replied, "I'm sure it's safe enough." Slowly, Kira carefully climbed over the railing and Cagalli joined the two shortly afterward, hopping over it. "This way," he said and led them further down the ship. Eventually, they came to a spot where some water had collected and he stood over it, "See? Look into the water." The other two gazed into the puddle and stared at their reflections for a bit.

"Hey…" Cagalli frowned, "That's…."

"She really does look like me!" Kira exclaimed, "Whoa…I never…"

"Wait a sec'," Cagalli said, looking up, "Ryo, you look like Kira too. So that would mean that…" She looked back down and Ryo looked into the puddle as well, "We all look the same…" Ryo blinked and squinted his eyes and it took him a moment to notice the similarities.

"Well," he replied, "This is certainly…odd…" After a while, the three of them had returned to the deck and Cagalli was sitting against the wall while Ryo and Kira leaned against the railing.

"You two…" she suddenly began, "You're really weird…in a lot of ways."

"Well, that's pretty obvious," Ryo chuckled as Kira looked back at her in a confused way and he too looked at her, "What else would you expect from Mobile Suit pilots our age?"

"Not like that," Cagalli said, "I mean…saying all these philosophical words and even hitting me last time…"

"Oh, yeah," Kira nodded a little sheepishly as he recalled the incident, "Sorry about that."

"Well, it doesn't really matter now," Cagalli sighed and then asked, "So…why are you two Coordinators?" The two pilots looked at each other and then back at her in confusion. "Um, lemme rephrase that," she said hastily, "Why are you two siding with the Earth Forces even though you're Coordinators?"

"Yeah, it's weird, huh?" Kira smiled a bit, "We get that a lot." He recalled all of the people who had asked him that same question; Athrun, General Garcia, and Waltfield as well.

"I'm not saying that it's weird or anything," Cagalli told him as he sat down next to her, "It's just that this war broke out because of the tensions between the Coordinators and Naturals, so…I was wondering what your thoughts about that were."

"What about you?" Kira asked.

"Well, frankly, I don't really have anything against Coordinators," Cagalli replied.

"I guess that makes two of us then," Kira smiled.

"But still," Cagalli said, "We need to fight back when other people try to harm us. It's just the way war is, you know?"

"Yeah, I agree," Kira nodded, "It's really the same case for us Coordinators…we didn't have anything against the Naturals in the beginning, but…" There was a bit of silence while Ryo tried unsuccessfully to get a seagull to approach them.

"But…you guys can do a lot more things than most people can, can't you?" Cagalli asked, "You guys are more physically fit from birth."

"That's only if you constantly study and practice," Kira replied while Ryo gave up in his attempts with the seagull, "Just because you're a Coordinator doesn't mean that you're better than everyone from the start."

"I guess that makes sense," Cagalli nodded, smiling a bit.

"I mean, sure, we definitely won't come down with any lethal diseases," Kira said, "And certain genes in our body have been modified but in the end, we're still human. But still, wasn't that originally the dream of the Naturals or something like that?"

"Yeah," Cagalli sighed, "But I guess it didn't exactly work out, huh?"

"Guess not," Kira nodded, "You know, I took up this fight because I thought that if I didn't, then all my friends would die…"

"Actually, you stayed because everyone else did," Ryo interrupted, "You just felt bad that you weren't doing anything."

"Well, anyway," Kira frowned, "Even after I joined the Earth Forces, I still couldn't protect all of them…I let so many die…" He heaved a sigh before adding, "And there are so many people that I killed even though I didn't want to…"

"Kira, that's crazy!" Cagalli suddenly said, "Do you honestly think that you've been fighting on your own this whole time?"

"Um, well, no…I…"

"Then you shouldn't blame yourself for everything! And neither should you, Ryo," Cagalli added, looking at the other pilot, "From now on, I'll fight by your sides." At that moment, Ryo heard something moving from inside and glanced at the open door suspiciously.

"Ryo? What is it?"

"Nothing, must've just been the wind," Ryo shrugged and then gazed off into the distance before saying, "You know, this might sound kind of weird but…that night when the elder did that ceremony to honor the dead…I felt kind of happy for those people."

"What? Happy?" Cagalli frowned, "What…?"

"Well, besides the fact that they're dead and all," Ryo quickly added, "It's just that…I could almost feel their souls relaxing…their war is over and they can all rest peacefully…I just had this really peaceful feeling that night." As the others looked at him oddly, he smiled and said, "It was…a pretty good feeling."

"Kira! There you are!" someone suddenly interrupted and the all turned to see that Flay had emerged from inside the ship. She wasn't wearing her uniform top or the t-shirt that she was supposed to be wearing under it, just a pink tank-top that was tied up to show off her slim stomach.

"Jeez, Flay," Ryo remarked, raising an eyebrow, "You'd better hope that Badgiruel doesn't catch you walking around in that or you'll never hear the end of it."

"No one asked you," Flay huffed and then turned to Kira, softening her tone, "I was looking all over for you, you should've asked me to come along if you were going to the deck." She reached down and took Kira's arm before pulling him up.

"Oh, um," Kira stuttered as she pressed himself against his arm, "Sorry." He glanced at Cagalli and then at Ryo, both were giving him an unpleasant look.

"Isn't this so nice?" Flay asked, not noticing, "But…I don't wanna stay out here. Let's go back in after a little bit, okay?"

"Well, seeing as I'm probably gonna be a nuisance," Cagalli suddenly said, standing up, "I guess I'll just go work on the Skygrasper simulator again…"

"You know, it's gettingkind ofhot out here," Ryo added, going after Cagalli as she went inside, "I think I'll just go grab something cool to drink…maybe take another nap later on…"

"Wait…hold on a sec'…" Kira blinked as the two went in, "Guys!" As Kira stuttered over his situation, Flay glared darkly at Ryo and Cagalli. As the two walked through the hallways, Ryo looked over at the blonde and noticed her sour expression.

"What's up with you?" he asked teasingly, "You're not jealous now, are you?"

"No, I'm not!" Cagalli fumed, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Fine, fine," Ryo chuckled, holding up his hands in defeat, "I won't tell…" With that, he walked off and it took Cagalli a few seconds to register what he meant.

"Bastard!" she screamed and chased after Ryo, who had now started running away as he laughed, "Get your ass back here right now!"

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Later, deep beneath the waves, one of ZAFT's Vosgulov-class submarine carriers cruised through the depths of the Strait of Malacca. The captain of the vessel, Marco Morassim, was sitting in his quarters listening to a recording sent to him by none other than Rau le Creuset.

"I was most surprised and shocked to hear of Commander Waltfield's recent fall in battle," Rau said as Morassim poured himself a cup of coffee, "I feel partially responsible for his death, since I was the one who allowed the Legged Ship to make landfall. It's a…complicated feeling…" Morassim snorted in contempt as he continued, "For the upcoming Operation Spit-Break, I will be coming down to Earth myself. When that time comes, I will be requesting your assistance, Captain Morassim…" At this, Morassim frowned and slammed his fist into the monitor, shutting it off.

"Hmph, Creuset, that bastard," he muttered, "Sending a recorded message like this only proves to be a pathetic taunt on your part. Well fine…I'll play your little game for now…" He glanced up at the map on the wall, "That Legged Ship…I'll sink you right into the Indian Ocean!" Back on the Archangel, some of the bridge crew was down in the CIC trying to get the new sonar that they had installed to work properly.

"No no no! That's not it!" Pal exclaimed, "The passive sonar goes there!"

"No way!" Chandra argued, "That's not how it is!"

"Hey!" Tonomura frowned, "How about you both shut up and let me handle this?" Natarle put her face in her palm and shook her head exasperatedly as she listened to them bicker.

"Hey, what's that?" Chandra asked when they saw something else on the screen.

"Idiot!" Pal groaned as Miriallia giggled softly and Sai rolled his eyes, "That's exactly why I told you not to touch that!" At that moment, Kuzzey, who was also watching the argument, noticed a beeping sound coming from his screen.

"Hey, there's something on the radar!" he called out and immediately went back to their posts.

"Is it another civilian ship?" Pal asked as he took a seat, "Like the last three times?"

"It's fast…" Chandra muttered when he took a look, "The interference is high, so it's kind of hard to identify it…but it's definitely not a civilian vessel!"

"All hands, Level Two Battle Stations!" Murrue ordered, "Hurry up and identify it!"

"All hands, Level Two Battle Stations!" the loudspeakers blared, "Repeat, all hands, Level Two Battle Stations!"

"What?" Mu asked in the hangar, where he was checking on the Skygrasper with Murdoch, "But I thought that ZAFT didn't have any forces out this far!" Meanwhile, not too far off, two Mobile Suits flew towards the Archangel. Both were a violet color and had support packs in the shape of wings which was folded over their heads.

"Alright," one of the pilots, who was none other than Morassim, said, "Visual confirmation of the Legged Ship acquired! GOOhN squad, begin launch preparations!"

"GOOhN, begin launch preparations!" the communications officer on the submarine called out, relaying Morassim's order.

"GOOhN, begin launch preparations!" Outside, two hatches opened up before both launched a single, tan-colored Mobile Suit, both in the shape of an oddly proportioned fish. As this was happening, the bridge crew had finally identified the incoming object.

"Checking the computer library," Sai said, "Confirmed as ZAFT's aerial Mobile Suit, AMF-101 Dinn!" As he said that, the two Dinns broke formation and their support packs folded back, revealing a head that was shaped similar to that of a Ginn without the head fin.

"All hands, Level One Battle Stations!" Murrue called out, "Lieutenant Commander Flaga and Ensigns Yamato and Mouri, proceed to boarding stations!"

"But Captain!" Natarle argued, "The Strike and X…"

"I know that they can't fight underwater or maintain flight for long in the atmosphere!" Murrue said, "But we can't do nothing."

"Dinns are approaching at 10 and 4 o'clock!" Tonomura announced.

"Load missile pods 7 through 10 with Wombat Missiles!" Natarle ordered, "Fire!" The Archangel's inner rear missile pods opened up and fired at the Dinns. "Set Igelstellungs to full automatic!" she said, "Don't let them get close to us!"

"Legged Ship," Morassim grunted as he dodged two of the missiles, "I'll get you yet!" He dodged another missile and opened fire with the Dinn's heavy machine gun. Meanwhile, Skygrasper One was being prepared for launch as the emergency net folded up behind it, the Launcher Striker pack already attached to it.

"Skygrasper One, la Flaga unit, proceed to launch area!" Miriallia said as the catapult opened, "Course clear, you may launch!"

"Alright, I'm going!" Mu nodded and sped out of the catapult. In the dock, Cagalli hurried over to the other one, only to find that it was still damaged and under repair.

"Sorry, kid, but this one's not ready yet," Murdoch said to her, "Go somewhere else and stay put." Discouraged, Cagalli frowned and snapped her fingers in frustration. Outside, Morassim's Dinn aimed its second gun, an anti-air shotgun, and fired a round at the Archangel.

"Valiants, aim," Natarle ordered, "Fire!"

"You!" Morassim frowned but then had to veer aside to avoid the shots from the two heavy machine guns on Mu's Skygrasper.

"Troops from Carpentaria, huh?" Mu pondered as he flew past the Dinn and turned around to avoid the counter fire, "I thought so."

"Something's come up on the sonar," Tonomura said, "Four…no, two…"

"What is it?" Natarle asked.

"This speed…propulsion tone…" he frowned, "It's a Mobile Suit!"

"What?" Natarle blinked, "An underwater Mobile Suit…"

"Judging from the sound patterns," Tonomura explained, "It looks like ZAFT's UMF-4A GOOhN." Down beneath the waves, one of the GOOhNs' moved its arms so that the hands pointed forward at a 90 degree angle and fired four torpedoes into the distance. "Burst tones on the sonar!" he exclaimed, "Incoming torpedoes at 11 o'clock!"

"Evade!"

"I can't! The water's inhibiting our movement!"

"Then give it full thrust!" Murrue ordered, "Get us out of the water!" Neumann pulled up on the control stick and the ship started to ascend. The result was that most of the crew that didn't know was sent tumbling to the floor.

"What the hell are they doing?" Murdoch grumbled as he tried to get back up in the dock. As the Archangel left the water, the torpedoes streaked under it, barely missing the bottom.

"Did they ascend?" one of the GOOhN pilots asked, "Well then, in that case…" With that, the two accelerated and momentarily showed themselves on the surface, just long enough to fire a rifle dart above the water and swim away. The Strike and X, which were standing at the mouth of their respective open catapults with their Phase Shift on, saw this and fired their beam rifles at the GOOhNs, only to miss as they disappeared beneath the waves.

"Dammit, this won't work!" Kira frowned and contacted the dock, "Mister Murdoch!"

"Whaddya want?"

"There's a bazooka in one of the supply crates from the 8th Fleet, right?"

"Yeah? So what?"

"Please get it ready," Kira said, "I'm going out there." Just then, the Strike was hit with a torpedo and retaliated by firing at the offending GOOhN with its beam rifle.

"You're going down there?" Murdoch asked, "But even if you do, the Strike…"

"I know," Kira nodded as the Strike went back inside, "But I have to do something or…" Down below, one of the GOOhNs surfaced again and aimed its torpedo launchers but then ducked back down as Mu's Skygrasper screamed over the spot where it had just been floating with the two Dinns on his tail.

"Bastards…" Mu grumbled as he avoided their fire. When they had passed overhead, the GOOhN resurfaced and began charging the two phonon maser canons on the sides of its head. As it did this, the Strike reappeared with its shield and the bazooka in hand. Kira gunned the thrusters and the Strike flew out of the catapult and away from the ship just as the GOOhN fired its cannons. Dodging, the Strike wheeled around and fired a round at the GOOhN, only to have it sink back into the water and miss before the Strike itself plunged into the ocean.

"Strike has entered the water!" Natarle announced, "Make sure the Valiants don't hit it by mistake!"

"Captain, I'm going out too!" Ryo said.

"But the X is worse off underwater than the Strike!" Murrue argued, "And we don't have any more bazookas!"

"I know, I'll use the X's Mobile Armor mode to help Mu against the Dinns," Ryo replied, "It should have enough thrust to stay airborne for a while. I'm pretty sure that Kira can handle the GOOhNs by himself."

"Very well then," Murrue nodded, "You have permission to launch!"

"Ma'am!" Ryo nodded and the X also leaped from the catapult before shifting into its Mobile Armor mode. Down below, Kira nervously scanned his surroundings. It was much darker down there than he had thought and he didn't like not being able to see his enemies. Just then, he pulled the Strike aside to avoid a speeding GOOhN before aiming and firing the bazooka. The GOOhN simply moved aside and dodged the round before turning.

"They're fast!" Kira thought and then the cockpit shook as the second GOOhN rammed into the Strike from behind.

"Hmph, using a space unit down here…" one of the pilots smirked, "Do you really think that you can beat a GOOhN in its natural territory?" One of the GOOhNs grazed the Strike's arm, shaking it a bit, before firing several torpedoes. The Strike dodged most of them and managed to get another shot off from the bazooka before blocking the rest with his shield. Just then, another GOOhN rammed into the Strike, causing it to drop its shield and the bazooka but this time, it managed to grab onto the GOOhN's fin. Drawing an Armor Schneider knife, the Strike plunged the blade into its back before letting go. With its airtight armor breached, the GOOhN slowly imploded on itself and then burst in a cloud of bubbles. "You!" the other pilot snarled and charged the Strike in the GOOhN's Mobile Armor mode. In the sky, Mu was still trying to shoot down Morassim's Dinn when all of a sudden, a burst of concentrated energy shot out of no where and the X Gundam in Mobile Armor mode flew out to engage the Dinn. Morassim dodged the shot and returned fire with the Dinn's heavy machine gun.

"Valiant and Wombat, fire!" Natarle ordered. The missiles streaked towards the other Dinn and damaged its support pack. Realizing that it wouldn't be able to stay airborne for much longer, the Dinn turned to retreat, only to be shot down by the Agni impulse cannon mounted on Mu's Skygrasper and the X's Scylla Cannon.

"Dammit," Morassim grunted, "What the hell is the GOOhN squad doing? They were supposed to have taken care of the Legged Ship by now!" As he dodged another shot from the X, the pieces of the destroyed Dinn fell into the ocean in front of the other GOOhN. No noticing, the pilot fired several torpedoes at the Strike, who was trying to get close enough to stab it with its other Armor Schneider knife. It dodged two but the last few impacted on its arms, jolting the Strike and it lost its grip on the weapon.

"Oh no!" Kira exclaimed as he watched the knife sink into the murky depths with a sense of helplessness. After the GOOhN had slammed into the Strike again, Kira turned the Strike around and tried to put some distance between himself and the rampaging GOOhN by using the thrusters.

"You're not getting away that easily!" the pilot shouted, turning the aquatic Mobile Suit around for a second charge. The Strike stopped and Kira looked around for anything that he could use. Just then, the anti-air air shotgun that the destroyed Dinn had been holding floated down in front of the Strike like a gift sent down from Heaven. Quickly, Kira grabbed the shotgun and tugged off the arm that was still clutching onto it, just as the GOOhN rammed into the Strike. Holding on, the Strike aimed the weapon at one of the GOOhN's vents before firing two rounds into it. Pulling away, he fired again before the GOOhN exploded and sent a fountain of water bursting out of the surface.

"Did Han's GOOhN get destroyed too?" Morassim wondered when he saw it but was then distracted by the machine gun fire from Mu's Skygrasper. A shot from the Agni impulse cannon destroyed one of its wing binders as the X shifted into Mobile Suit mode and drew its saber before cutting its right left leg off. "Dammit," he swore, "All units retreat for now!" With that, he turned the Dinn around and flew off while the X drew its beam rifle and fired a few shots after it.

"Yeah, that's right!" Ryo laughed as he watched it fly off, "Run away with your tails between your legs!" Mu laughed at the comment as the two headed back to the catapults and landed. Down below, the Strike was making its way back to the surface and as it did, Kira looked at the monitor and when he saw the pieces of the destroyed GOOhN, a brief image of Waltfield flashed through his mind.

"But…" he thought, "If I don't fight…then…"

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Far away, inside the L5 Colony Cluster that made PLANT, the Vesalius sat in its zero-gravity dock. Inside, Nicol Amalfi, now dressed in his deep crimson uniform, set down his suitcase and turned to face his parents.

"Well then," he said and saluted his father, who was dressed in his Supreme Council uniform, "This is it." His father nodded and his mother took Nicol's hand, giving them a light squeeze.

"You be careful," she smiled, "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"Thanks, mom," Nicol nodded and stepped back before reaching down for his suitcase, "Well, I'd better be going." With that, he turned and pushed off from the floor, allowing the lack of gravity to carry him towards the door as his parents watched their only son go. As he was heading down the corridors of the ship, he glanced out the window before he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Nicol!" someone called out to him and he turned to see his best friend coming down the same hallway.

"Oh, hey, Athrun," Nicol smiled and the two tapped their fists against each other, "Thanks again for coming to the concert."

"No problem," Athrun said, "I really enjoyed it."

"Oh?" Nicol laughed, "You didn't fall asleep, did you?"

"Huh?" Athrun blinked before giving a chuckle, "No, of course not!"

"Still," Nicol sighed, "I would've liked to play something more appropriate."

"Well, in the situation we're in now…" Athrun nodded, "Once this Operation Spit Break thing's over, everything else is gonna change too."

"Yeah," Nicol agreed, "But hey, at least we got a decent break this time. It's my first time doing a mission on Earth, you know."

"Mine too," Athrun smiled and then remembered something before adding, "Oh yeah, before I forget, happy belated birthday. Sorry it's two days late."

"Oh, you remembered?" Nicol asked happily, "Thanks, I appreciate it." He then looked off into the distance as if thinking and Athrun saw this.

"Nicol?" he blinked, "What's up?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Nicol replied a bit sheepishly, "It's just…an old friend of mine…it was his birthday two days ago too…"

"Really?" Athrun asked, "So you guys have the same birthday?"

"Well, he's a year older than I am," Nicol admitted, "We used to go to the same school together. But then, he got into an accident and I haven't seen him since."

"Sounds like me and Kira…" Athrun thought to himself and then asked, a bit curious, "So…who was this friend? What's his name?"

"Well, it's not as clear as it used to be…" Nicol admitted and then thought for a bit, "Oh, now I remember!"

"What? What is it?"

"His name's Ryo," Nicol smiled, "Ryo Mouri."

Phase 22: End


	24. Fateful Encounter

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 23-Fateful Encounter

_March 7, C.E. 71, Earth's orbit_

Far above the Earth, the remainder of the Creuset team had returned. Three Laurasia-class ships were positioned around the larger Nazca-class cruiser as they all moved into position.

"Gibraltar service is clear," the communications officer on the Vesalius reported, "Temperature, 12 degrees Celsius. Humidity, 45. Wind, 27 degrees west by north-west. Low atmospheric pressure over the open ocean." As he said that, the three Laurasia-classes detached the large pods on the bottoms of their hulls. Small wings spread from the sides of the pods as they descended into the atmosphere, one such pod containing the Aegis and Blitz Gundams. Down on the surface, the descending pods were detected on the radar of an Earth Forces base, more specifically the Orbital Traffic Monitoring Center.

"Drop warning on the radio antenna," one of the technicians announced, "Targets have been identified as Mobile Suit containers. They are currently…descending over Chomoranma's route."

"Sheesh, have there been any days for the past week without any warnings?" one of the senior officers sighed.

"Is it headed for Gibraltar?" another asked, "Because if it is, then we can't do anything about it. Dammit…how dare they look down on us just because we don't have the advantage in space…"

"It's just as I thought," the first one frowned, "The rumors about ZAFT starting a large-scale invasion of the planet…doesn't look like it'll end as just a rumor anymore."

"Do you think they're going after Panama?" the second blinked.

"They'll probably invade in swarms once they've captured all of our spaceports," the first nodded, "Kaoshiung, Victoria…Panama is all that we have left. And so…Panama is the one thing that I can't let those bastards get their hands on."

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Far out in the ocean, the Archangel was cruising lazily through the waters. Inside, Murrue and Mu were busy discussing the previous battle against the Morassim team.

"So it was definitely a submarine cruiser?" Murrue asked and stopped walking, "You're sure, right?"

"Definitely," Mu nodded, munching on a sandwich, "It'd be way too hard for them to get us all the way from Carpentaria. Besides, since we're moving, they won't be able to do much before they have to go back and recharge their batteries." Murrue sighed as he added, "If there're ships or aircraft, then it shouldn't be too hard to spot them. But still, fighting underwater isn't something we're used to yet." On the bridge, Tonomura suddenly stiffened in his seat and sneezed. "If they attack again, then we might have to fight them in their own territory," Mu continued, "If we don't take them all out, they'll keep following us until we do…" He paused to pop the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"Looks like it," Murrue nodded and rubbed her temple with her left hand, "But…"

"Ah, cheer up!" Mu laughed and gave her a playful smack on the back, "Something good's bound to come up! If worst comes to worst, then we'll just head to the shallower areas. Besides, we managed to make it this far, didn't we?"

"You always say stuff like that without any proof," Murrue frowned, putting her hands on her hips while Mu grinned sheepishly.

"Well, it's a little something called encouragement," Mu smiled and prodded her forehead with his finger before walking off, laughing at his own antics.

"Really…" Murrue huffed but couldn't help but smile herself before going after him. Meanwhile, Kira was in Flay's room, wringing a towel out under the sink. When it was decently moist, he turned and walked over to where she was lying in the bed, curled up in a ball.

"Oooh…" she moaned, sounding very miserable, "Kira…I feel so sick…"

"Here," Kira said and put the towel against her head.

"Thanks," Flay smiled and rolled over onto her back, straightening out, "That feels better…" After a bit, she put her hand over the towel and asked, "How come no one else is getting seasick but me?"

"Well, it's not rocking that much," Kira blinked, looking around.

"It's rocking, alright…" Flay groaned and turned over onto her side again.

"Do you want me to get Milly?" Kira asked, "I'm sure she can help somehow…she's better at this than I am, anyway…"

"No, it's okay," Flay replied and took his hand, "I just need you to stay with me…" A moment later, she added, "But…I would like some juice…"

"Okay," Kira smiled, "I'll get some for you."

"This towel's already warm too," Flay said as he got up and he couldn't help but sigh in exasperation as he left the room. In the cafeteria, the other students were either eating or talking, although Kuzzey and Sai were checking their current course.

"Are you sure it won't work?" Kuzzey asked as he stared at the screen.

"Well, we're headed for Alaska," Sai nodded, "If we don't cut through the middle of the ocean, then we'll end up going farther by going around enemy territory."

"But what can we do?" Miriallia asked, "We're soldiers now, and you know that we can't be discharged while on a mission.

"We didn't think it would turn out like this," Kuzzey replied while Cagalli put down her drink and got up before leaving, "They just told us that we were going down to Alaska, so I thought that I'd go along too." In the hallways, Cagalli was walking down the corridor when she heard someone call out to her.

"Cagalli!" she heard and she turned to see Kisaka coming up to her.

"I know, you don't have to remind me," Cagalli frowned, "I haven't said anything."

"That's good, but…" Kisaka replied but Cagalli cut him off.

"But…I think that there'd be something…"

"Cagalli…"

"What do you want me to do?" she snapped suddenly, "I already know the situation we're in, but…I can't let this ship or those two get shot down…" She added with a shrug at Kisaka's stern stare, "It's probably just Haumea's guidance." Turning, she saw Kira coming down the hallway and smiled before waving, "Yo."

"Hey," Kira smiled and continuing on his way as Cagalli did the same. Kisaka stood there and watched them go before giving an exasperated sigh.

"Kids…" he grumbled before going after the blonde. Meanwhile, Kira had gone into the cafeteria and Ryo was the first to see him. The others looked but Sai quickly averted his gaze and Kira sighed before moving.

"How's Flay?" Miriallia asked, breaking the awkward silence, "I heard she got seasick."

"Yeah," Ryo said, leaning back in his seat a little, "How's the landlubber?"

"What?" everyone asked, giving him an odd look.

"Oh, come on!" Ryo exclaimed, sitting up, "Don't tell me you've never read any pirate stories! They use that term all the time for people who aren't used to the ocean!"

"Well, she's okay," Kira nodded, still a bit confused, "She took some medicine and she's whimpering a little, but I think she'll be alright."

"Hey, Sai," Kuzzey whispered, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Sai nodded, "Besides, it's not like I can win against Kira or anything…" They stopped talking for a bit to watch Kira walk out of the room and when the door closed again, Ryo shook his head and sighed.

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Meanwhile, at the ZAFT army's Gibraltar base, located near the tip of Spain, ZAFT was assembling its ground forces. Ginns, CGUEs, GOOhNs, and Dinns were gathered around the store-houses along with the de-active Aegis and Blitz. Athrun was climbing down from the cockpit of his machine using the zip-cable when he heard Nicol call out from below.

"Athrun!" he said, "The Creuset Team's supposed to meet in Briefing Room 2 in ten minutes!"

"Alright, got it!" Athrun nodded and hurried off after his friend when he reached the ground.

"It sure is hot here," Nicol commented, "The air on Earth is really different than on PLANT, huh, Athrun?" Inside, Yzak was arguing with Rau about the status of their mission.

"Commander, I'm asking you to let me take care of this!" he said.

"Yzak, I appreciate your determination," Rau replied calmly, taking no heed to the outburst, "But I'm afraid that you're too emotionally unstable to be a good leader."

"Excuse us," Athrun's voice said from outside the door before it opened to reveal both Athrun and Nicol, both now dressed in their crimson uniforms. "Yzak…" Athrun blinked when he saw him, "That scar…" Yzak huffed and turned his head to the side.

"Yo," Dearka waved from the desk he was sitting at, "Long time no see."

"His wound is healing nicely," Rau explained, "But he claims that he won't have it removed until the Strike is destroyed." Athrun frowned and averted his glance when Rau added, "No matter what happens, it's essential that we stop the Legged Ship before it is able to deliver the data to Alaska. However, the troops at Carpentaria have already taken responsibility for that."

"But that's something that we should take care of!" Yzak argued, "This was originally our responsibility!"

"I agree, Commander," Dearka nodded and stood up.

"Dearka…" Nicol muttered.

"I also faced humiliation during that battle," Dearka frowned at him and Nicol didn't say any more.

"I am aware of how you feel and my opinions are the same," Rau nodded and adjusted his mask, "However, I'm too busy preparing for Operation Spit Break to have time for anything else. Therefore, I will allow you to chase after the Legged Ship if you are really that willing."

"Sir!" Yzak nodded eagerly.

"Very well. This squad will consist of only your four; Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, and Athrun," Rau said, "And…let's see…Athrun, I will leave you in charge of the operation."

"Me?"

"The Legged Ship will undoubtedly use the Red Sea to go through the Indian Ocean," Rau told him, "I will contact Carpentaria and tell them to prepare transports for you. In the mean time, I advise you prepare for immediate departure."

"Sir, I'm…"

"We're bound by destiny to that ship," Rau chuckled and put a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "I realize that it may be difficult, but I expect great things from you, Athrun."

"So, now we're the Zala Team, huh?" Dearka asked with a smirk when Rau had left, "Well, so it's all come down to this. I sure hope he doesn't get us all killed."

"Dearka!"

"Heh, it's time for you to show your abilities as a leader, Athrun," Yzak warned and then added sarcastically, "I'm gonna watch real closely how you do it so that I can be just like you." Athrun ignored this and instead, recalled the day when Rau had warned him about the Strike and X. He clenched his fists when he remembered what he had said.

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"_So, what's it going to be? Will you shoot them down or be shot down by them?"_

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"Reaction confirmed on the sonar at seven o'clock!" Tonomura announced, "It's a Mobile Suit?"

"Are you sure?" Natarle asked, "How many?"

"Matching sound prints," Tonomura said, "We've got two GOOhN units headed our way! I can't pinpoint their locations, but there's no mistake!"

"All hands, Level One Battle Stations!" Murrue ordered and the word was quickly announced through the rest of the ship via the speakers.

"Kira," Flay said in her room, "Do you…"

"Yeah," Kira nodded, "Sorry, I have to go now."

"It's okay," Flay smiled but then added in a darker tone, "Just make sure you don't leave any of them standing…" Kira frowned a bit as he went to the door.

"If you get tired, then take a nap," he told her when he was out the door, "It'll do you some good. I'll check on you when I get back, okay?" Just then, he heard footsteps approaching and turned as the door closed to see Miriallia, Kuzzey, and Sai stop a few feet away from him. There was a bit of an awkward silence before Sai gave him an acknowledging nod.

"Take care of her, alright?" he asked and Kira nodded. They heard someone else coming and then a voice shouted at them.

"Hey, what're you guys still doing out here?" they turned to see Ryo running up to them already in his pilot suit, "Hurry up and get to the bridge or Badgiruel's gonna be all over you!" They knew he was right and hurried off to their battle stations. Meanwhile, beneath the surface, three Mobile Suits glided through the depths. Two were GOOhNs but the other looked like a hybrid between a Ginn and a tortoise. Its hands, folded to its sides, ended in razor sharp claws and its mono-lens glared out from the top of its head piece, which was planted on top of its chest.

"Hmph, going into shallow waters like this…" Morassim sneered from inside the Mobile Suit, "Only makes it better for my ZnO! Now that Creuset's down here too, I'll definitely shoot this thing down today!" He clicked a trigger and four of the ZnO's 533mm torpedo launchers, six on either side of its head, fired a round each and a GOOhN shot four more.

"Incoming torpedoes! Eight of them!" Tonomura warned.

"Leave the water! Ascend now!" Murrue ordered and Neumann quickly pulled up on the controls. The Archangel immediately lifted off from the water just in time to have the torpedoes shoot under it, only to get hit by the rocket dart launchers on the GOOhNs.

"Arm all aft Igelstellung guns!" Natarle said, "Intercept them! Valiant One, aim, fire!" The Archangel's port Valiant cannon was deployed and fired a round at the GOOhNs, forcing them to submerge to avoid it. Inside the dock, the Strike and X were being loaded onto their respective catapults and Kira was discussing the Strike's armaments with Murdoch.

"You're gonna use the Sword Striker?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded, "If I cut the beam, then I can use it as a normal sword."

"Gotcha!"

"Lieutenant Commander Flaga, I'll leave it to you, then," Murrue said.

"Alright," Mu replied, "CIC, use the wake of their Mobile Suits to calculate the location of their carrier. I'm gonna go after it."

"But…"

"It's the fastest way," Mu said, "Even with the Sword, Strike can't fight off those amphibious Mobile Suits forever."

"Then I'll go with Lieutenant Commander Flaga," Ryo added, "The X won't be of much use underwater without any special equipment anyway. Kira, can you handle the defense of the ship on your own?"

"Yeah."

"I'll upload the calculated data that the resistance gave us," Sai told Mu and typed in a few commands on his module.

"Thanks," Mu nodded and cut the link.

"Are you seriously gonna just let this sit here?" he heard someone ask and turned to see Cagalli arguing with Murdoch near the other Skygrasper, "I told you that I can pilot it, didn't I?"

"It's against the rules," Murdoch replied, "Civilians ain't allowed on fighter craft."

"Well it's all over if the Archangel goes down, isn't it?" Cagalli retorted, "Are you gonna take responsibility if that happens 'cause you didn't do anything about it?"

"Heh, looks like the little lady's got you there!" Mu laughed while Murdoch grimaced, "Chief Petty Officer, get the second Skygrasper ready for her. We're going after their mother-ship, so it'll be best if we had all the firepower we could get." He then looked at Cagalli and added warningly as he wagged a finger at her, "But I'm telling you now, little missy, this isn't a game! You said so yourself a while ago, so you know what to expect, alright?"

"My name's Cagalli!" she scowled as Mu put his helmet on, "And I know that!" Outside, the GOOhNs were leaping out of the water and firing their torpedo launchers in midair at the Archangel continuously, making them difficult to hit.

"Execute random evasive maneuvers!" Murrue ordered as two of them hit.

"Valiant, fire!" Natarle added and the Valiant gun, now rotated downward, shot two bursts into the water as a torpedo detonated near it.

"X, standby for launch!" Miriallia announced, "Systems, all green. Course clear. Everything checks out; go ahead, X."

"Catch you guys later!" Ryo laughed as the X was propelled out of the catapult. As it transformed into its Mobile Armor mode, Mu's Skygrasper made its way onto the catapult.

"Skygrasper One, la Flaga unit, please proceed to launch area!" Miriallia said as the Skygrasper's engines warmed up.

"Alright, on my way!" Mu announced and took off before the second Skygrasper, containing Cagalli, now wearing a similar helmet to Kira's except orange, moved onto the catapult.

"Cagalli unit, prepare to launch!"

"Are you sure about this, Cagalli?" Kira asked from the Strike as it was being outfitted with the Sword Striker pack.

"Hey, I told you already," Cagalli replied, "That I'm fighting by your sides. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Just then, the plane launched and she winced as the g-forces pushed her back into her seat. Down below, a GOOhN surface for a moment and hit the Archangel from behind with a rocket dart before diving to avoid a Valiant round.

"Strike, please launch!" Miriallia said and the Strike was quickly propelled out of the ship. The Midas Messer beam boomerang, which had been folded down on its shoulder, sprang up to an angle as its Phase Shift Armor activated. Wheeling around it deflected another rocket dart with its smaller shield before firing its head-mounted Igelstellung guns at the GOOhN, forcing it to dive before the Strike entered the water once again.

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Back at the Gibraltar base, three carrier planes were taking off from the runways. Each one contained a single member of the new Zala Team and were headed for the Carpentaria base. The leader of the team, however, was still in the waiting room watching them go. Just then, the intercom behind him sounded and he turned to answer it.

"Waiting room, Athrun Zala speaking," he said.

"Sir, your transport is having some difficulties with its structure, so your departure will be delayed until we can fix it," the person on the other end told him, "I apologize, but you'll have to wait there until we contact you again. It shouldn't take us too long."

"Understood," Athrun nodded and cut off the link before sighing. "First they make me the leader of a squad and now this," he grumbled and sat down, "It's gonna be a long day…"

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Meanwhile, the Strike had drawn its Schwert Gewer anti-ship sword from its back and prepared to face off against the GOOhNs. "I can't use beam weapons down here," Kira reminded himself, "So horizontal or vertical strikes won't be as effective against these guys." One of the GOOhNs fired four torpedoes at the Strike, which dodged and charged it, using the tip of the sword like a lance. The GOOhN ascended to avoid it and the Strike turned and fired its Igelstellung guns at it. The second GOOhN came up while the first moved aside and fired its phonon maser cannons at the Strike, which used its shield to block it as it went behind a rock for added protection. "Dammit!" he swore while chunks of rubble sunk to the ground, "I have to keep them away from the ship somehow…" Just then, his radar reacted and the Strike moved just in time to avoid four torpedoes that came out of no where. The shockwave shook the cockpit, causing Kira to grimace as he struggled to regain control. The last Mobile Suit, Morassim's personal UMF-5 ZnO, burst from the smoke and charged the Strike.

"I'll handle this!" Morassim ordered from inside it, "You guys take care of the ship!" As the GOOhNs passed under him, Morassim had the ZnO transform into its "humanoid" mode and fired the phonon maser cannons installed in its palms. Strike dodged just in time and the ZnO zipped past it before it started to turn.

"This is…" Kira frowned as it charged him again, "One of their new units?"

"I'll definitely take this guy out!" Morassim snarled, "And I'll do it today, with this ZnO!" Saying that, he had the ZnO raise one of its clawed hands while the Strike brought back its anti-ship sword, getting reading to swing. When it was close enough, it swung down at the ZnO, which dodged, and then fell back to avoid a blow from its claws before it fired a salvo of torpedoes after it. Meanwhile, a GOOhN surfaced and fired its own torpedoes at the Archangel before diving again.

"Roll twenty degrees and evade!" Murrue ordered and Neumann complied with the order.

"Don't let the GOOhNs get to us!" Natarle said, "Fire the Valiants!" Unfortunately, the continuous rocking of the ship was taking a bad effect on those who were sensitive to that kind of thing, especially Flay, who was sick enough.

"Oooh…if it keeps rocking like this…" she moaned, clutching her stomach as her room swayed, "I swear I'm gonna hurl…" Meanwhile, Mu and Cagalli had caught up to Ryo in their Skygraspers and were currently searching for the enemy submarine carrier. So far, though, they hadn't had any luck with that.

"This is ridiculous," Mu frowned, scanning the surface of the water, "Now where could that damn kitty cat be?" Cagalli and Ryo heard this and the former raised an eyebrow.

"Kitty cat?" Cagalli asked, blinking in confusion.

"Well, that's Mu for you," Ryo chuckled as he too looked around, knowing that Mu was just trying to be funny, and drummed his fingers on the sideboard, "Always managing to make a joke out of something."

"Right," Cagalli nodded slowly, not really getting the point, and kept following the other two. Back at the Archangel, Kira was still struggling to defend himself from the ZnO. He fired the Strike's Panzer Eisen rocket anchor at it but the ZnO merely swatted it aside with its hand and then rammed into the Strike.

"What kind of…" Kira grunted as it dragged him down, "Power is this?" The ZnO slammed the Strike into a rock before pulling back and firing another salvo at it. Strike quickly got up and moved to avoid them before using its thrusters to lead the ZnO away.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," a pilot said over his shoulder from the cockpit. Athrun's transport was finally ready for take off and he himself was taking a seat.

"Ah, no, it's alright, really," Athrun replied and sat down in the back. Looking out the window, he felt the engines roar to life as the craft propelled itself off of the runway and into the air. Within moments, it was heading in the direction that the three others had gone in nearly an hour before. "Well," he thought and closed his eyes, feeling up for a quick nap, "At least nothing else can go wrong."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Back at the battlefield, the Morassim Team's submarine carrier was heading towards the area of conflict. "Alright, we're sending out the Dinns," the captain said, "Prepare to surface!" In the carrier's three vertical launch tubes, each one had a Dinn loaded into it as it started to ascend.

"Something's come up on the radar! Three of them!" an officer called out, "It's the Legged Ship's aerial fighters and a Mobile Suit!"

"What?" the captain exclaimed and looked up. And sure enough, the transformed X Gundam was approaching with the two Skygraspers right behind it.

"There it is!" Mu grinned, "Alright kiddies, lets go get it!"

"My name is Cagalli! Get it right, dammit!" Cagalli asked irritably before both Skygraspers launched a missile at the submarine.

"Underwater explosives approaching!" the communications officer warned.

"Evade!"

"It's too late!" At that moment, the deck shook as one of the missiles hit the prow of the carrier. "Damage to the starboard bow! It's flooding!"

"Damn!" the captain swore, "Get us to the surface and send out the Dinns! Shoot those three down!"

"Well, well, looks like they finally decided to come up for air!" Mu remarked, "You two ready for this?"

"You kidding?" Ryo laughed, "I've been waiting all day to do this!"

"Yeah," Cagalli nodded simply before descending a bit.

"Hey, careful!" Mu warned when he saw her, "Don't drop your altitude too much!" Cagalli ignored him and continued flying towards the dark spot in the water.

"Cagalli, pull up!" Ryo shouted, "You're too close! You'll run right into it when it surfaces!" Cagalli finally got the hint and swore as she pulled up, narrowly missing the sub when it burst through the surface.

"Idiot! What did I tell you?" Mu sighed in exasperation as Cagalli maneuvered the craft around.

"Hey! Who're you calling an idiot?" Cagalli asked while the carrier's three vertical launch tubes opened up.

"You think I'm gonna let you do that?" Mu frowned when he saw this and veered over. Taking aim, he fired the Skygrasper's Agni impulse cannon while the X shot at the carrier with its Scylla Cannon. The first blast hit the carrier's bridge while the second struck the port hull. Within moments, the carrier went up in flames and sunk, the shockwave sending up water as it went down.

"Did we get it?" Cagalli asked, looking at the smoldering wreck in the middle of the water. All of a sudden, her eyes widened as a lone Dinn, which had managed to launch, burst from the smoke and she barely avoided running into it.

"Does that answer your question?" Ryo asked sarcastically while turning the X around to face it. Meanwhile, the Archangel was still being pestered by the GOOhNs, one of which hit the bottom of the ship with three torpedoes. The bridge shook while the ship itself tilted to shoot at it with the port Valiant cannon, only to have it dive beneath the waves.

"Strike, what are you doing down there?" Natarle demanded, losing her patience bit by bit.

"This is tough," Sai frowned, "If only we could use our upper cannons…" Murrue heard this and was struck by inspiration.

"Ensign Neumann, we've got no other choice," Murrue said, "Prepare to have the Archangel perform a barrel roll."

"W-what?" Neumann stuttered and turned in his chair, "But that's…"

"Captain…"

"We're going to try to get them with the Gottfrieds," Murrue explained, "Natarle, we'll only have one chance, so I'm counting on you."

"…Understood," Natarle nodded, although it was a hesitant one.

"Ensign, can you do it?" Murrue asked.

"Yes ma'am," Neumann nodded and turned back around to get ready.

"The ship is about to enter a 360 degree barrel roll," the announcer said, "All hands, please brace for impact. I repeat, the ship is…"

"What?" Murdoch gaped, "They're out of their minds!"

"The GOOhNs are closing in!" Tonomura warned.

"Gottfrieds, aim!" Murrue ordered while she buckled her seatbelt, "Ready?"

"Here it goes!" Neumann nodded, "Hang onto your hats, people!" With that, he pushed one of the control sticks forward and pulled the other back. Outside, the thrusters on the Archangel's "legs" rotated and the ship began to roll over as the Gottfried pods opened and deployed the cannons.

"Wait, no!" Flay cried out as bottles of perfume and make-up started to slide off of her shelf and she gripped the bedpost tightly, "This is crazy!" As the Archangel continued to turn over, everything inside that wasn't secure started to slide across the floor.

"Son of a-" Murdoch swore as he slid and bumped his head against the wall, which was now the floor, while another crewmember dangled on a support cable, "This ain't zero gravity you idiots!" Just then, both GOOhNs resurfaced at the same moment as when the Archangel was completely upside down, giving the GOOhN pilots a good view of the Gottfried cannons' barrels before they fired. Both shots hit the GOOhNs and destroyed them as the ship righted itself again. Down below, the shockwave hit the ZnO and pushed it forward, distracting Morassim.

"What the hell was that all about?" he wondered out loud before he felt something snag onto the ZnO's arm. Looking down, he saw that the Strike's rocket anchor was latched onto the ZnO's arm and the Strike itself was using it as a weight to reel itself towards the ZnO, its anti-ship sword poised to strike. "No you don't!" Morassim growled and managed to have the ZnO catch the blade. Quickly, Kira had the Strike reach up and tug its beam boomerang loose before jabbing the tip against the ZnO's leg. Silently praying that his idea would work, he activated the boomerang and the blade ignited, cutting through the ZnO's leg and startled Morassim enough to let Kira pull the anti-ship sword loose and then jam the tip through the ZnO's left shoulder. "How can he use a beam weapon underwater?" he exclaimed, "Wait…of course! If he makes direct contact with a surface, the water won't…" As he said that, he had the ZnO grab onto the Strike's right shoulder and face before dragging it down and pinning it to the ground, still impaled on the sword.

"He's gonna shoot when he's this close?" Kira gaped when he saw the phonon maser cannon begin to charge, "No…it won't end here!" Pushing the control stick forward, he had the Strike draw both of its Armor Schneider knives and stabbed the ZnO on either side of its head, piercing its oxygen tubes. The Strike then planted its foot on the ZnO's torso before kicking it off of the anti-ship sword, causing it to flip over and explode on the ground behind it. Kira watched the debris fly over him and sighed, "Another death…" Back at where Ryo, Mu, and Cagalli were, the three of them were still battling the single Dinn.

"Hey, watch it, missy!" Mu exclaimed as Cagalli's Skygrasper flew in front of him after the Dinn dodged his shots, "Quit moving around or I'm gonna shoot you down by accident!"

"Well sorry!" Cagalli frowned before she was jolted around in the cockpit as her Skygrasper took a hit.

"Cagalli!" Ryo exclaimed as smoke poured from the back of the craft, "Dammit!" He transformed the X into Mobile Suit mode and fired at the Dinn with its beam rifle.

"You okay?" Mu asked as the smoke faded.

"It's just the navigations module!" Cagalli replied a bit shakily, "I'm fine!"

"Can you find your way back?" Mu said, "Head back to the Archangel and let Ryo and I deal with this guy!"

"Don't worry about it, I…"

"If you keep flying like that, you'll get in the way!" Mu told her firmly, "Don't you at least know that?"

"Cagalli, I have to agree with him on this one," Ryo said, "We can't take chances out here."

"Ugh, fine," Cagalli groaned and rolled her eyes before flying off. All of a sudden, Ryo felt a strange tugging sensation in the back of his mind.

"What's this?" he wondered, "Why am I…?" And then he remembered. Only last night, he had had a dream where Cagalli had been stranded on a deserted island with a ZAFT pilot. "I have to do something," he frowned and then said to Mu, "Mu, I'm going to follow Cagalli so that she doesn't run into any trouble. Can you handle the Dinn on your own?"

"No problem!" Mu nodded, "Make sure you get the little lady back in one piece, alright?"

"You got it, sir," Ryo chuckled and flew off after Cagalli's Skygrasper while Mu shot at the Dinn to distract it.

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"Uh-oh…"

"Ditto," the other pilot nodded, "But who would come all the way out here to fight in a place like this?"

"What's going on?" Athrun asked, opening the door to the cockpit.

"Looks like there's a battle going on up ahead in the ocean," the first pilot told him, "Things will ugly if we get caught up in it; we don't have any GOOhNs on board and your unit will just fall out if we open the hatch." Athrun looked ahead through the windshield and then heaved another sigh.

"I guess something went wrong after all," Athrun thought grumpily and sighed again. Meanwhile, the Dinn put its arm over its head to shade its mono-lens from the sunlight before firing at the sun, which Mu had strategically steered his Skygrasper in front of.

"Now I've got you!" Mu shouted and fired the impulse cannon, tearing right through the Dinn in one shot and destroying, "How'd you like that, huh?" Far off in the distance, Cagalli was still trying to find the Archangel, despite having no clue where it was.

"Wait a minute, that cloud looks familiar," Cagalli said to herself, "Where the hell is the Archangel?" Just then, her radar acted up and she looked to see something come up on her view screen. "A ZAFT…transport carrier?" she blinked and at the same time, the pilots noticed the Skygrasper approaching them.

"An Earth fighter plane?" one of the pilots asked, "What's it doing all the way out here?"

"They must be reinforcements," Cagalli frowned, "Then if that's the case, I'll have to shoot it down before they reach the Archangel!" She veered aside and aimed the Skygrasper's beam cannon as the carrier opened fire on her.

"Get into your Mobile Suit's cockpit!" the other pilot told Athrun, "If we have to, then we'll purge your unit somewhere!"

"But…"

"If we get shot down with a unit on board," the pilot said, "It'll be a disgrace to the transport fleets. Hurry!"

"Understood," Athrun nodded and turned before running for the door in the back. Outside, Cagalli's Skygrasper was hit on its left weapon pod before it managed to land a shot on the carrier's right wing.

"Dammit," the pilot swore, "We overlooked this 'cause it's our territory. Don't go out yet, you won't be able to withstand the fall! We'll purge you after dropping in altitude!" The last order was directed to Athrun, who was climbing into the Aegis' cockpit. The Mobile Suit had its shoulder armor folded down and the blades on its feet folded in.

"What about you guys?" Athrun asked, sealing his helmet's visor.

"We'll get out of here after we've dropped you off, don't worry about us."

"Alright, understood!" At that, the bay doors opened and the Aegis slid out before everything was extended to its full length. Meanwhile Ryo saw the carrier just as Cagalli's Skygrasper started to go down.

"Cagalli!" he called out, "Cagalli, can you hear me? Cagalli!"

"Can't…steer!" he heard her grunt, "Losing…control….waaaaahhhhhh!"

"Cagalli!" Ryo exclaimed, "Hang on!" He was about to go after her when the carrier started to shoo at the X, which was still in Mobile Suit mode. "Dammit, I don't have time for you!" Ryo snarled and deployed the Scylla Cannon. Taking aim, he fired and managed to shoot off the left wing, sending the carrier tumbling into the ocean below, "Where'd she go? She couldn't have…" Just then, he saw smoke rising in the distance and thought, "Maybe she's there…at least, I hope she is…"

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When Cagalli stirred and slowly opened her eyes, the first thing that she noticed was that the Skygrasper wasn't moving anymore. She heard a soft rushing sound outside and looked around to see that the nose of the Skygrasper was buried in the shallow end of a beach. "I'm alive," she sighed gratefully and sent a prayer of thanks to Haumea. Turning to the controls, she dropped the keyboard over her legs and started to type. "This is Cagalli," she said into the speaker, "Archangel, do you copy? Archangel?" There was no response, the screens stayed blank and she realized that most of the internal systems were probably damaged, "Archangel…" Taking her helmet off, she opened the cockpit and climbed out, bringing a bag of supplies with her. As she floated in the water, a sudden wave washed over her and when she grabbed onto the cockpit to keep from being swept away, she lost her grip on the bag and it was pulled out into the ocean. "Oh no…" she groaned as she watched it float away, "Well, I guess it can't get much worse…" With that, she turned and saw the rest of the way to the shore just in time to see the X Gundam touch down near her. The cockpit opened and she was relieved to see Ryo climb out.

"Cagalli!" he called out as he descended via zip-line, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," she nodded, "But I lost my supplies. Do you have room for one more in that cockpit? I don't think the Skygrasper's gonna be flying again 'til it's fixed."

"Sure," Ryo replied, "But don't expect Murdoch to be too happy with you when we get back." Cagalli shrugged and Ryo held out his hand before saying, "You'll have to hold onto me, there's only enough room for one foot to fit on this thing. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck before Ryo tugged on the zip-line and they started to go up. It was slower than the trip down because of the fact that it was designed to carry one person but when they reached the cockpit, Ryo helped her in and then got into the seat. When he activated the systems, however, he was in for a very unpleasant surprise. "Uh-oh…"

"What?" Cagalli asked, dreading the answer, "What is it?"

"We've got a slight problem here…"

"What's wrong?"

"Eh heh…" Ryo laughed a bit sheepishly, "Low battery…and I can't pinpoint the Archangel's location, either. I don't think we'll be able to last with the amount of power this thing has left." Cagalli looked down and saw that the power meter was nearly two-thirds of the way depleted.

"So now what?"

"I guess this means that we're stuck here until they send a search party or something," Ryo shrugged and climbed out of the cockpit, "But knowing Kira, he'll probably go without permission anyway. We don't have much to worry about except for wild animals and poisonous plants, not to mention the mosquitoes." A few minutes later, the two of them were down on the ground again and walking towards the forest. "Let's split up. It'll be easier if we both looked over one part of the island each," he suggested, "I'll go this way and you go that way. If you get into trouble, make a loud noise and I'll try to find you." Cagalli nodded and the two went on their separate ways into the trees. It only took Cagalli a few minutes of walking along a dirt path to find the other side.

"It sure is a small island," Cagalli said to herself as she pushed an overhanging branch out of the way, "I wonder if it's deserted…" As she looked around, her eyes caught sight of something grey and she recognized it as the de-active Aegis. Looking down, she saw someone walking away from it wearing a ZAFT pilot suit. "A ZAFT soldier?" she thought and reached down for her handgun. As she clicked the safety bolt off, though, the soldier heard it and Cagalli had time to glance at his green eyes once before she raised her weapon and fired. If Cagalli wasn't so surprised and the pilot not a Coordinator, the bullet would have hit him anywhere but his arm before he dropped his bag and ran off. "Freeze!" Cagalli shouted as she slid down the hill she was on and the soldier hurried and hid behind a large rock. He looked towards his bag, which had opened to reveal that his own gun was inside. As he glanced around, Cagalli slowly approached his hiding spot and both of them had a similar thought in their mind.

"This just isn't my day…"

Phase 23: End

To the reviewers:

-No, this is not a RyoxCagalli fic. If it was, then who would poor Athrun be stuck with?

-Regarding the speculations of the appearance of the Double X Gundam. I can only say that it will appear but I will not say when and how it does.

-I'm not sure as to how many more times Ryo will use the Satellite Cannon but I'm planning to limit it to a few more times.


	25. War for Two

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 24-War for Two

_March 8, C.E. 71, Deserted island, Unknown location_

"Where did you lose them?" Murrue asked, "Can you establish contact with either of them?"

"The radio's not responding," Miriallia replied worriedly, "There's no reply at all." Only minutes ago, Mu and Kira had returned from the battle but both Ryo and Cagalli were missing and had yet to come back to the ship. The bridge crew was trying to reach them but so far, nothing had been discovered.

"Even the radar can't find them, there's too much interference," Tonomura told her, "We only managed to track them to where they left the battlefield and that's it."

"Captain, I'm going out to search for them!" Kira suddenly said, appearing on the main view screen.

"Hold on, Ensign Yamato, I can't let you do that!" Natarle replied, standing up, "We can't waste any more time lingering here! I'm reporting those two as MIA for now!"

"MIA?" Sai asked, "What's that?"

"It stands for 'Missing In Action'," Tonomura replied, "It means that they disappeared during the battle. In other words, even if it's not confirmed, they technically died while fighting." Sai looked at Miriallia, who returned the glance, both alarmed.

"Wait, Lieutenant Badgiruel!" Kira begged, "We can't just mark them as dead…without even looking for them!" Murrue thought about this and then turned to Miriallia.

"Crewman Second Class Haw, how much time until the sun sets?" she asked.

"Um, well," Miriallia said and looked down at her screen, "There's only about an hour until night-fall."

"Very well then," Murrue nodded, "Ensign Yamato, I grant you permission to search for Ensign Mouri and Cagalli."

"Captain!" Natarle argued, "We're still in ZAFT territory! Sending him off will leave us vulnerable!"

"It'll be difficult searching from the air," Murrue continued, not paying much attention, "Once the maintenance and re-supply is done, go out in the Strike for an underwater search."

"Captain! I can't support this!"

"As Captain, it's my responsibility to look after the crew!" Murrue argued, "I'll take full responsibility for my actions!"

"Fine," Natarle frowned, "But I'm making a note of this in my report later…"

"Do what you want…" Murrue replied, "But I can't leave those two out there…on their own…"

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Cagalli inched closer and closer to where she had seen the pilot run to, keeping her handgun raised. Meanwhile, Athrun clutched the wound on his arm to stem the bleeding and listened to the stranger approach his hiding spot. "A soldier from the Earth Forces?" he wondered to himself, "Could it be one of the pilots from back there?" Cagalli glanced over at the pilot's bag, noticing the gun lying next to it, before returning her gaze back to where she guessed he was hiding. She began to strafe to the side, eventually catching sight of the pilot. Athrun's eyes widened at the sight of the stranger and he slowly sank to the ground into a kneeling position. He reached down to his boot and pulled out a knife before holding it in front of him in a defensive position, although he knew that it wouldn't be of much use against a loaded gun. For a while, the two just glared at each other, both daring the other to make the first move with their gazes, until Cagalli looked down momentarily and kicked Athrun's gun away from the bag. Seeing this, Athrun took the opportunity to leap up and onto the hill. When she heard it, Cagalli looked back and hastily shot at him. She missed and adjusted her aim before firing four more, all of which missed. Frowning, she ejected the empty clip and put in a fresh one as she glanced around warily. After about a minute, she took the chance and dashed over to where the other gun lay and picked it up to inspect it.

This was the moment that Athrun had been waiting for.

As soon as he saw the stranger pick up the gun, he got up from his hiding place and leaped into the air. Cagalli heard the disturbance and turned around, bringing Athrun's gun up at the same time. Before she could get any shots off, however, Athrun had kicked the gun out of her hand, causing her to stagger back while he landed in a crouching position and the gun clattered a few feet away. Struggling to regain her balance, she pointed her own weapon at him but he grabbed her wrist and the two entered a brief struggle. Finally, Athrun's Coordinator strength prevailed and he flipped Cagalli over, causing her to land about a foot away and she dropped her gun in the process. Before she even stopped skidding, Athrun had gotten a grip on the collar of her Kevlar vest and was kneeling over her, his knife poised to strike. As soon as Cagalli saw what he was about to do, she did the first and only thing that came to mind.

She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as loud as she could.

Somewhere, Cagalli could have sworn that she heard a distant crashing sound and someone swearing even as she waited for death. Which was why she was pleasantly surprised when nothing happened for another minute or so. She finally decided to open her eyes a bit and see what was going on, only to see a pair of startled green eyes gazing back at her.

"You're…" Athrun mumbled in amazement, his knife still raised, "A girl?" Gradually, he became conscious of how far the stranger's chest jutted out against the Kevlar vest he still had a grip on and he slowly relaxed his position.

"What…" Cagalli stuttered, now close to tears from the encounter, "What the hell did you think?" Now that his suspicions had been confirmed, Athrun finally lowered his knife and got off of her. Minutes later, he was taking the magazine from her gun before tossing both the weapon and the ammunition into the waves. Cagalli, who he had gotten off of by then, now had her hands tied behind her back by the wrists and her ankles bound together, lying on her side.

"Hey," Athrun suddenly said, catching her attention, "Are you…really part of the Earth Forces?" Cagalli frowned as he unzipped the front of his pilot suit while walking over to his bag, "You don't have an ID on you…and I've never heard a scream like that on the battlefield."

"Well excuuuuse me," Cagalli grumbled sarcastically, although she flushed a bit at the memory.

"So, you're the one who attacked my transport back there, huh?" Athrun asked as he peeled the suit aside to check on the cut on his arm, "An atmospheric fighter…just across the ocean…"

"Hey, you guys shot me down too, you know!" Cagalli retorted irritably while Athrun applied a bandage to the wound, "I'm the one who should be complaining here!" Turning to look at her, Athrun couldn't help but chuckle at the way she acted.

"What about your team, then?" he smiled, "Any reason why you were flying around solo back there?"

"For the last time, I'm not a soldier!" Cagalli frowned, "I'm not part of a team or any of that stuff! You think I wanted to end up stuck in a place this…whoa!" As she was talking, Cagalli had struggled to straighten up into a more position, namely sitting, but she had ended up landing on her face and rolling a bit, now lying on her front like a trussed-up Christmas turkey. Even as she struggled, Athrun watched with an amused smile before getting up and picking up his back. "You…" Cagalli grunted while she managed to get her knees beneath her, "You're one of those people who attacked Heliopolis, aren't you?" This caught Athrun's attention and he turned to look at her as she added, "I was there too…I was at Heliopolis when you people destroyed it!"

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"They've probably sent out a distress signal already, but…" Murrue said, "It probably won't be of any help when the radio signals are in this condition." The Archangel had come to a complete stop by now and was floating on the water's surface calmly. Kira was inside the locker room getting ready to head out on the search mission and was fixing the collar of his pilot suit as he listened to her, "There are many deserted islands around the area where we last heard from them, so it's possible that they may be somewhere around there."

"Okay," Kira nodded and turned off the speaker before thinking, "Hold on, you guys, I'll find you!" Just as he was about to leave the locker room, though, the door hissed opened and Kira was surprised to see Kisaka standing in the doorway. "Mr. Kisaka?" he blinked, "What…?"

"Find Cagalli," Kisaka said simply and bowed a bit, "Please bring her back…" Kira stared a bit before he nodded confidently.

"Don't worry," he told him, "I will!" Later, as he sat in the Strike's cockpit making last minute adjustments, Murrue contacted him again.

"Once again, I apologize for this, because I'm sure that you must be tired from the battle," Murrue sighed, "But we're counting on you to find them."

"It's nothing," Kira replied as the system started up, "I'm fine, really."

"Even if you don't find anything, be sure to return in about two hours," Murrue reminded him, "If it comes down to that, then we'll think of another solution."

"Right."

"Please don't strain yourself too hard," Murrue added, "If you don't get any rest, it'll be hard for the rest of us as well. So please be sure to return after two hours."

"Yes ma'am," Kira nodded and watched as the catapult slowly opened, "Strike…launching!" The Strike, which had been re-equipped with a new bazooka and its shield, was shot forward and glided a few kilometers away from the ship before splashing into the water.

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Meanwhile, at ZAFT's Carpentaria Base near the Northern tip of Australia, the rest of the Zala team was sitting in the waiting room. Or, at least, half of it was. Nicol was gazing out the window at the sunset while Dearka was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. They had landed at the base hours earlier only to learn that Athrun's transport had been attacked and shot down while en route to the base. They were still waiting for news about his whereabouts and that was what Yzak, who was the other member not present at the moment, was doing. All of a sudden, the door opened and the aforementioned fair-head walked into the room. "Yzak!" Nicol exclaimed while Dearka and himself turned to face him, "Have you heard anything yet?" That was when Nicol noticed that Yzak was looking oddly calm, to the degree where it looked like he was smiling smugly.

"Fellow members of the Zala Team," Yzak began and Nicol was surprised to hear that Yzak actually sounded moderately cheerful, "I'm sure that you're all very anxious to hear some news, so allow me to relay to you the first mission of our glorious squad." He glanced at Dearka, "Something that's…more important than anything else…" Pausing for a dramatic effect, he looked back to Nicol and concluded by saying, "We, the members of the Zala Team, are going to search for our leader!" At this, Dearka burst into a fit of laughter, finding the irony of the whole situation to be very humorous. Nicol glanced at Dearka irritably before Yzak added, "Well, it's not like he could have helped it when his transport got shot down, he wasn't even the one at the controls, but…"

"What?" Nicol asked, "What is it?"

"Unfortunately, headquarters is still very busy with the whole loading business," Yzak said and Nicol could almost detect a hint of glee in his voice, "And so that means that we'll have to find our precious Athrun on our own."

"Oh man…" Dearka chuckled, turning back to his magazine, "What a way to start out as a new squad…losing our leader and having to find him right after we transfer!"

"Despite the urgency of the situation, however," Yzak sighed, faking disappointment, "It's getting late, and it'll be difficult to look for him in the dark. Therefore, we'll have to start searching for him tomorrow."

"But that's…!"

"Relax, Nicol, he's in the Aegis!" Dearka replied nonchalantly, "Even if he's lost somewhere, it's not really that big of a deal. It's not like he's falling through the atmosphere or something like that…"

"Well then, that's the way things are," Yzak nodded, "Get a good night's sleep, people. We'll be departing tomorrow when they've finished up with our new ship, so we'll just have to wait 'til then." Nicol heaved a sigh before turning back to the window.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until morning then…"

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Back at where Cagalli and Athrun were, the latter was sitting in the cockpit of the Aegis and trying to establish contact with any friendly units. Unfortunately for him, all that he kept getting was static, even as he flipped through the channels. "None of these are clear," he sighed, "I didn't think the radio waves were this bad out here." Just then, a low rumbling sound interrupted his thoughts and he looked out to see dark clouds gathering over the sky, flashing at one point, "Looks like it's gonna storm pretty soon…" Down below, Cagalli had managed to successfully drag herself up onto a small ledge by moving about in a caterpillar-like fashion on her front

"Ugh, that jerk!" she grumbled, "He only went easy on me 'cause I'm a girl! Stupid…rope!" A sudden crack of thunder startled her and when she sat up, she lost her balance and gravity pushed her down onto her bottom and she landed on her side before rolling all the way back down the ledge. It didn't take long for her to land face first into a large puddle that had formed and after a bit of struggling, she managed to roll over onto her back, gasping for air. Just then, she felt something wet drip onto her face and she looked just as it started to downpour. "Great, just great," Cagalli groaned and tried to sit up but realized that the bonds on her wrists prevented her from doing that. All of a sudden, the tide started to come in and she choked as some of the seawater slipped into her mouth. Meanwhile, Athrun had the Aegis raise its arm and something that looked like a small missile shot from it before landing in the water. When it surfaced, the tip split open to reveal a sort of buoy that Athrun hoped would strengthen the radio signals a bit. By now, Cagalli had managed to get her head, or at least her face, back above the surface of the water and was breathing in deeply when she heard a loud noise behind her. Looking up, she saw that the Aegis had positioned its shield right above her so that the rain couldn't get to her and it was then that she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hey, you," she heard the pilot say, "What're you doing in there?"

"What's it look like to you?" Cagalli snapped, surprising Athrun, "I fell in and I can't get back up! Stop standing there like an idiot and help me out already!"

"I really don't think that you're in any position to be telling me what to do," Athrun chuckled, putting his hands on his hips.

"Shut up and get me out already!" Cagalli shouted and Athrun smiled a bit before kneeling down and taking her shoulders, pulling her up into a sitting position easily.

"You alright?" he asked but Cagalli just averted her gaze. Just then, Athrun felt a slight tickling sensation on his hand and he looked to see a small crab crawl out of Cagalli's hair and onto his hand. Cagalli noticed this too and the two of them watched as it crawled along Athrun's arm and then stopped at his elbow before dropping back into the pond. The two looked at each other and Athrun couldn't help but burst out laughing moments later.

"Hey!" Cagalli said, "What's so funny about a crab, huh?"

"Sorry," Athrun laughed and let go of her shoulders, "It's just…I've never really seen anything quite like that before!"

"What, you guys don't have any crabs on PLANT or something?" Cagalli asked before she straightened up into a standing position and hopped out of the puddle.

"Hey, where're you goin'?" Athrun asked, confused as she stood outside of the cover provided by the Aegis' shield.

"As long as it's raining, I might as well wash up a bit," Cagalli replied, turning to face him, "My clothes are full of sand." Athrun watched as an expression of relief crossed her face and she threw her head back, laughing, "Ahh, this feels great!" He smiled a bit before pulling his knife out again and approaching her. In a single fluid motion, he cut through her wrist-bonds and then reached down to cut her ankles loose as well. "Why…?" Cagalli asked, looking at him oddly.

"Restraining a civilian without a just cause is against military regulations," Athrun replied, stepping back a bit and putting his knife away, "Besides, you don't have a weapon anymore. Even if you did try to attack me, I could handle you easily."

"What did you just say?" Cagalli fumed, angered from being called weak.

"Instead," Athrun said in his most serious tone, "I'll just have you take your clothes off."

"Huh…WHAT?" Cagalli gaped and instinctively covered up her front, "You…you're not gonna…"

"N-no! That's not what I meant!" Athrun stammered, sensing that she had misunderstood him, "I meant that you should dry your clothes off by the fire! Even by the equator, it gets cold at night, you know. If you don't dry them off, you might…" All of a sudden, Athrun was cut off when a gunshot rang out and acting upon instinct, he grabbed Cagalli and pushed her down to the ground behind a rock. "What was that?" he frowned, drawing his own gun.

"Wait…" Cagalli said, "There's someone else on this island who came with me. I think he might've thought…"

"Never mind," Athrun replied, holding up his hand, "I'll deal with this." Saying that, he stood up and fired off two shots from his gun before another shot rang out and the gun was knocked from his hands by the bullet. Drawing his knife, he ran for cover while dodging bullets and he glanced at where the shots were coming from to see someone dressed in an Earth Forces pilot suit running out from behind a ledge. He managed to get up onto another ledge and leaped at the pilot, raising his knife. To his surprise, his opponent put his gun away and drew his own knife before catching Athrun's wrist and drawing back his own knife. Seeing this, Athrun grabbed the wrist and the two entered a brief struggle, each trying to push the other back. "This guy's strong," Athrun thought, "Way too strong for a Natural…could he be…" He chanced a glance at his adversary and for a moment, an image of Kira flickered into his mind. "K-Kira….?" he muttered, blinking in surprise. His opponent responded by pushing him away with his foot and jumping back, giving Athrun a more full view of who he was fighting.

"Really," the pilot grumbled, "Why does everyone keep thinking I'm him?" Sure enough, Athrun saw that this stranger was indeed not Kira. Although he bore a striking physical resemblance, his hair was jet black instead of brown and his onyx eyes didn't have the same warmth that Kira's amethyst ones carried. His knife didn't look like any that he had ever seen either, a triangular-blade with a small hoop connecting it to the handle. "Listen, ZAFT guy," he suddenly said, startling Athrun out of his thoughts, "I know that there's a war going on and that we're not supposed to even be having this chat. But if we don't put our differences aside until we get out of this godforsaken place, then I've got a feeling that none of us are gonna make it out of here alive."

"He's right," Athrun thought, pondering the stranger's words, "We might end up killing one another before help comes…."

"So, whaddya say?" the pilot asked and straightened up, putting his knife away before extending his hand, "Truce?" Athrun stared at the hand for a bit before putting away his own weapon and relaxing, taking the other pilot's hand in his own with a firm grip.

"Yeah," Athrun smiled, "Truce." Just then, he heard a splashing sound from behind him and he turned to see Cagalli walking over to them.

"What the hell was that!" Cagalli shouted, "First you're trying to kill each other and now you're shaking hands?"

"We've settled on a temporary cease-fire," the pilot explained before asking, "You alright?"

"Just fine, small thanks to you," Cagalli grumbled, "I've had my hands and feet tied together for the past hour or so and this guy had enough manners to let me go just a little while ago. Where the heck were you, anyway? You said that you'd come running if I made a loud noise. Didn't you hear the gunshots?"

"Well, it's a pretty funny story, actually," the pilot replied, suddenly sheepish, scratching the back of his head, "You see, I did hear the shots, but when I was hurrying to where I heard them…"

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_Flashback_

"It sure is humid here," Ryo sighed and glanced around before swatting at his arm, "And full of these stupid…bugs!" The pilot of the X Gundam had parted ways with Cagalli only five minutes ago and had already plunged deep into the trees that covered the island. He looked over at a rather tall tree and decided to get a better view of the island, so he hitched his bag up higher up onto his shoulders and got a firm grip onto a low-hanging branch before pulling himself up onto it. After a few minutes of climbing, he reached the uppermost branches and gazed over the island. It was smaller than he had thought, about ten square miles if his geography skills were up to date. All of a sudden, he heard gunshots and was so startled that he slipped from his perch and managed to grab onto another branch, just saving himself from a nasty fall. As he looked for a branch to drop down onto, he felt the one he was dangling from bend sharply. "Please don't break, please don't break…" he muttered and then heard a loud snap, "Dammit…"  
Even as he fell, he groped around wildly for something to hold onto but found nothing but air.

Just when he thought there was no hope, however, he felt the strap of his back go taut and then he felt it slip from his shoulder, only to feel it wrap around his leg and jerk him to a sudden halt. And so there he was, dangling upside down from a tree by the strap of his bag and swaying in the breeze like a wind chime. "This is so embarrassing," he muttered and glanced at his feet, "I'm sure glad that Cagalli isn't here to see this." Just then, he heard a girl's scream echoing across the island, "Oh man, I've never heard her scream like that before! She must be in real trouble if she's actually screaming!" Having dwelled in his embarrassment long enough, Ryo focused on the next step: getting back down. First, he tried to pull his torso up and untangle his foot by himself but after several failed attempts over the course of an hour, he found himself forced to take a more serious approach. Reaching for the pouch attached to his belt, he fumbled around with the clasp before getting it open and pulling out his knife, drawing it from its sheath. He dropped back down to build up energy and then jerked himself up, swinging the blade at the straps. The first time, he missed and on the second try as well but on the third swing, he managed to sever the straps before he felt himself falling again. Fortunately, though, he wasn't too high up from the ground and landed without serious injury; although his bag hit him on the head when it fell.

"Ouch! Son of a…" Ryo grunted and rubbed his sore head, "I'm never doing that again…" Putting his knife back into its sheath, he placed it back into its pouch and picked up his bag, "Guess I'll have to get a new strap later…" He quickly tied the severed pieces together and stood up before he realized something. "God dammit!" he swore, "I totally forgot why I'm down here!" And it was true. Ryo had been so busy trying to free himself that he had completely forgotten just why he had come down, or fallen out of, the tree in the first place. At that moment, his reminder came in the form of the sound of a missile being fired. Moments later, he heard shouting and found the voice familiar. Then it clicked. "Cagalli…" he muttered and dashed off towards where he had heard the sounds, drawing his hand gun as he ran.

_End flashback_

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"And now," he said, gesturing with his arms, "Here we are!" Cagalli and Athrun both stared at him incredulously before Cagalli burst out laughing.

"You…" Cagalli laughed, "You got yourself stuck in a tree? With your own bag?"

"Sadly, yes," Ryo sighed while Cagalli kept laughing. All of a sudden, she yelped and jumped up as if in surprise, her hands flying to her chest. "Hey, you alright?" Ryo asked, "What's gotten into you?"

"Something…tickly…" Cagalli replied, her hands patting her vest, "It's…somewhere up here…." Athrun watched and then knew what was going on.

"Looks like a crab got into your shirt, too," Athrun smiled and Cagalli looked at him, startled, before she pulled up her vest and her shirt with it. And even though she didn't pull it up too high, it was still enough for Athrun to catch a glimpse of her slim form and also a bit of something else, though not all of it, as a second crab dropped from the inside of her shirt where it had been hiding.

"You're right…" Cagalli blinked and then looked up at Athrun. Just then, the said bluenette realized that he had just been staring and quickly turned before promptly slipping on a rock and falling into the puddle. This time, Ryo laughed with Cagalli as Athrun sat up and shook the water from his hair before grinning sheepishly at what he had done.

"Yeah, yeah, real funny," Athrun said when he had gotten back up, "Anyway, we should probably get out of this rain or we'll end up getting sick. There's a cave over there we can stay in for the night." He then turned to Cagalli, "There's a blanket in my bag. You can use it to cover yourself while your clothes are drying." Cagalli nodded gratefully and took the back before heading off to the cave that Athrun had pointed out. When she was gone, Ryo went to stand beside Athrun, noticing that he was watching her leave.

"You liked what you saw, didn't you?" he asked teasingly, nudging him in the ribs.

"Shut up…" Athrun replied and flushed red.

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Night had fallen and by now, the rain had long since stopped. This, however, wasn't something that Kira was paying attention to. He was still sitting in the cockpit of the Strike and had already searched several islands on his way. Every now and then, the Strike's head would resurface to look for land and Kira was feeling tired, having been out in the ocean for quite a while. Sighing, he glanced at the digital clock in the cockpit. 9: 09 a.m., his two hours would expire soon. "Cagalli," Kira thought, "Ryo…" He had the Strike dive back down into the waves, "Where the heck are you guys?"

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Later, inside the cave they had taken refuge in, Cagalli sat next to Ryo and protrusion of rock, with the blanket she had borrowed from Athrun wrapped around her shoulders. Despite the added warmth, Cagalli still shivered a bit since her clothes were drying over the fire that Ryo and Athrun had built up and her shoes were sitting next to it, meaning that she wasn't wearing much under the sheet. Athrun himself sat against the adjacent wall, gazing into the fire like she was doing. Only Ryo seemed to be able to find any incentive to move at all, his eyes darting back and forth across the cave, looking for something interesting. After nearly half an hour of silence, Athrun finally reached into his bag and pulled something out of it before standing up. Ryo looked over to him as he came over and held whatever was in his hand to Cagalli. "Here," he said with a small smile and Cagalli looked up to see that it was a tin mug with a small package of rations in it. "The radio waves are weak around here," Athrun explained as he set the cup down near her feet and straightened up, "Help won't arrive until morning. We'll have to spend the night here.

"Well that's your fault, isn't it?" Cagalli frowned, "After all, you guys were the ones who shot Neutron Jammers into the Earth's surface."

"Cagalli…" Ryo hissed into her ear and nudged her with his elbow but Athrun was already going back over to his side of the cave, missing the scene.

"It was retaliation," Athrun muttered as he picked up his own mug, still standing as he gazed outside the cave "After the Earth Forces attacked us with nukes…" Cagalli said nothing but Ryo felt a pang of guilt in his heart.

"They don't know…" he thought to himself bitterly and looked at the ground, "Should...should I tell them?"

"You know, even if it's ZAFT's," Athrun suddenly said to Cagalli, "Rations are still rations. Besides, your stuff is floating around out in the ocean, isn't it?" Cagalli narrowed her eyes at him but then the silence was broken by the sound of her stomach complaining. Her face turning red, she reached down and picked up the package before opening it and starting to eat. Ryo reached into his own bag and started eating his own rations as well but after a while, he made a face and closed up the wrapping before standing up.

"Where're you going?" Cagalli asked as he walked over to the cave entrance.

"I don't see how you people can live on this crap," Ryo grumbled, "I'm gonna go get some real food. You two behave yourselves, you hear?" Before Cagalli could retort, Ryo had stepped out of the cave and vanished into the night. Athrun glanced at her and couldn't help but mentally chuckle at her before taking a sip from his mug and glancing out at the Aegis, which was kneeling near the cave. Later, he tossed a stick into the fire to keep it going and sat down as it crackled a bit.

"Are you…sure you don't need to keep me tied up?" Cagalli suddenly asked and Athrun looked up at her with a puzzled expression, "If I sneak up on you while you're sleeping, I could steal your gun. Then I'd have the advantage and you'd just look stupid." Athrun blinked once before he started to laugh and this infuriated the blonde even more, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Athrun chuckled, "I was just thinking that you'd never learn." Suddenly, he calmed down and told her, "If you try to take my gun, then I'd have no choice but to kill you, so just forget about it." After a brief silence, he added, "You've managed to stay alive even after Heliopolis and this place. It'd be a shame if you had to die here."

"Hmph," Cagalli frowned and looked away as the fire crackled again, "I never thought someone like you would ever worry about my life." Athrun sighed and turned to gaze out of the cave again.

"About Heliopolis…" he said, "We never expected it to turn out like that. The Mobile Suits that Morgenroete developed for the Earth Forces were all we were after. If we had been able to capture them all, then it would have ended right there."

"It doesn't matter what you say now," Cagalli spat, "You guys destroyed it and that's a fact!"

"You may claim that Heliopolis was indeed neutral," Athrun frowned, "But you can't deny the fact that ORB was building Mobile Suits for the Earth Forces there." As Cagalli cringed at this, he added, "We're only fighting to protect PLANT. When something like that happens, we can't just ignore it and pretend it never did."

"It's not that much different for the Earth Forces, you know," Cagalli argued, "You guys just come along in your fancy Mobile Suits and trample all over them…is that something they can ignore?" For a few moments, the two stared at each other, the flames of the campfire reflecting in their eyes. Finally, Athrun broke eye contact and looked away, as if submitting.

"My mother…" he said, "She was on Junius Seven when it was destroyed." As a look of surprise came over Cagalli's face, Athrun told her, "It was nothing more than an average agricultural PLANT…and yet the Earth Forces dropped the nukes on it without warning. All of those innocent people died in a blink of an eye. The elderly, the children….everyone…" Looking back at her, he asked determinedly, "So how, then, can you just ask me to sit around and do nothing about that?"

"Look, I feel bad, okay? About your mother and all," Cagalli frowned, "But do you think you're the only one who's lost someone important? I lost a lot of my friends too…all from attacks made by you people!" There was another tense silence before Athrun sighed and turned.

"Forget it…" he said and lay down on his side, propping his head up on his hand, "There's no point arguing about this now in a place like this…" Cagalli said nothing but stood and walked out of the cave, Athrun's eyes following her every move. Once outside, she looked up at the Aegis and remembered when she first saw it. It had been on Heliopolis, while she had gone into a restricted area with Ryo and Kira as her guides. It had been there that she had come to the conclusion that her father had betrayed the country of ORB. Heaving a sigh, she turned and was surprised to see that Athrun was starting to doze off where he was.

"Hey, are you just gonna go to sleep?" she asked, confused.

"Huh? Oh, no, of course not," Athrun replied after his head jerked up, "But…I just mobilized after a descent, so…I'm a little…tired…" With that, he laid his arm flat on the ground and rested his head on it before falling asleep, much to Cagalli's surprise.

"What's with this guy?" she thought as she tossed some wood into the fire, "Is he seriously gonna just fall asleep?" She was squatting next to the fire near him and as she looked at him, her gaze fell on his gun, which was on his right side. And since he was sleeping on his _left_ side, it was completely exposed.

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"I said I'm fine!" Kira argued, "I got plenty of rest like you told me to!"

"Just how do you define 'fine'?" Mu frowned, pulling the younger pilot away from the Strike's open cockpit, "Sure, you rested alright, but you only lay down for what, an hour after washing up! Not only that, you also disregarded the amount of time that the Captain gave you. For Pete's sake, you came in an hour and a half late!"

"But…!" Kira tried to argue and looked at the Strike as he thought to himself, "I can't just leave them out there…not after all they've done for me…" Kira's thoughts traveled into the past, to the moment when Cagalli had given him comfort in a time of emotional crisis. He remembered the times when Ryo had offered him countless advice on all sorts of subjects and how many times he had placed Kira's well-being before his own.

"It'll be dawn in about five hours," Mu told him, breaking him out of his thoughts, "We'll go out and search for them then, alright?" All of a sudden, Mu gave him a rough shake to make sure he was listening and added through gritted teeth, "Look, I don't like this either, okay? There's no real point in saying this, since I'm the one who lost them, but don't try to carry everything on your own." He then said in a more relaxed tone, "Don't worry, they're a tough pair of soldiers. We'll definitely find them in the morning." Kira nodded but even then, he couldn't help but heave a heavy sigh as he walked off. It was going to be another long, restless night for him.

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"How can this guy just fall asleep and let his enemy walk around freely?" Cagalli wondered out loud as she sat at the mouth of the cave. Sighing, she shifted her feet a bit before gazing up at the Aegis again. She remembered being told that Heliopolis was under attack by ZAFT, that their Mobile Suits had entered the colony. Even now, she could recall the shock that she and the others had undoubtedly felt when they had heard this. She sighed again and stood, walking into the cave again before standing over Athrun. "They…" she thought and squatted down next to him, her hand reached for his holster, "They…killed…" All of a sudden, she remembered what he had warned her about earlier and her hand stopped just before it reached it. As she struggled with her conscience, she heard him mutter in his sleep.

"Why…?" she heard him say, "Why are…you in the Earth Forces…? I don't…want to…kill you…" Cagalli looked at his face and was startled to see tears glistening under his closed eyes.

"He…" Cagalli thought sadly, "He sounds…just like Kira…" She then looked back at the Aegis, "But…I've got to!"

"Ah ha! Now I've got you, you little-OW! YOU STUPID…!" The sudden explosion of Ryo's voice from somewhere occurred just as Cagalli had her fingers around the handle. And to make matters worse, the fire suddenly crackled loudly and this was enough to make Athrun stir and open his eyes blearily. Seeing this, Cagalli looked down and by now, Athrun was starting to realize what was happening. All of a sudden, Cagalli had thrown the blanket over him and retreated to the adjacent wall with the stolen weapon while Athrun struggled to free himself, silently cursing her luck and Ryo with it.

"You…!"

"I'm sorry!" Cagalli exclaimed, ignoring the fact that she was now in only her underwear as she clicked the safety off and Athrun drew his knife, holding it in a defensive position, "I don't wanna shoot! But I…I can't just let you go back to your Mobile Suit! You're just gonna use it to kill more people, aren't you?" Athrun blinked in confusion and lowered his knife a bit as she continued, "I know ORB was wrong for making it…but…but that Mobile Suit…it's just gonna bring more pain to the world and take away tons of lives!" By now, her voice was choking up and the corners of her eyes were stinging from developing tears.

"Then shoot," Athrun replied coldly, "I'm the one pulling the trigger here, aren't I? I'm a ZAFT pilot, I can't allow you to tamper with that unit. But if you must, then I'll have no choice but to do my duty…" With that, he moved the knife so that he was holding it upside down with the blade pointed at her. Cagalli's breaths had become ragged and Athrun was sweating as they stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

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"_It almost makes you wonder if there's no other way but for one of us to be destroyed..."_

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These words, spoken by the late Desert Tiger, echoed in Cagalli's mind even as her hands shook and then, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "God dammit!" she screamed and drew back the hand holding the gun, "Shut up!" Athrun knew what was about to happen and as he threw his knife aside, he jumped at her as she too threw her weapon at the ground. A moment later, a gunshot rang out and then there was silence as the echoes faded away. Inside the cave, however, both of them were unharmed and panting heavily before Athrun picked himself up off of her and looked at the still smoking gun.

"What kind of idiot throws a loaded gun with the safety off?" he asked as he turned back to her, more amazed than angry, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"S-sorry…" Cagalli stuttered, still in shock at what had happened. At that moment, the two heard footsteps from the cave entrance and they looked to see Ryo running up to them with something flailing around limply in his hand.

"I heard a gunshot in here," he panted as he skidded to a stop, "Is everything al…right…?" He paused as he looked at them and that was when they realized the position they were in. Even though his hands were holding his torso off of the ground, it still looked like Athrun was straddling Cagalli in a rather odd way. "Sheesh, I go out to get something to eat and this is what you guys do while I'm gone," Ryo said, shaking his head with an amused expression on his face, putting his hands on his hips, "I swear, I can't leave you two alone for a second without you doing something weird…"

"I-it's not like that!" Athrun stammered and quickly scrambled off of Cagalli, sitting against the wall next to her.

"No, it's not!" Cagalli added as she sat up, "We just…" Just then, she noticed that the side of Athrun's pilot suit had been torn and that there was shallow cut there. "Was that…?" she asked, pointing at it, "Was that from…?"

"Ah, I'm fine," Athrun replied, standing up, "It just grazed me."

"Why…" Cagalli said, "Why did you…?"

"I dunno," Athrun shrugged, "It all…happened so fast, I didn't have time to think…Anyway, I'll just patch this up…"

"Are you sure it's not too deep?" Cagalli asked and stood up as well to follow him as he went over to his bag.

"Don't worry about," Athrun smiled and picked up his bag to get a bandage.

"Here, let me…" Cagalli told him and reached down and tried to take the bag from his hands.

"I can do it myself, you know," Athrun said, pulling back on the strap.

"I said I'll do it!" Cagalli argued, pulling the bag against her chest.

"It's fine!" Athrun frowned, pulling harder.

"Just let me do it for you!" Cagalli shouted and pulled, holding the bag to her chest as if it were her own child, "Please…let me make it up to you…" Athrun noticed that there were tears streaking her face now and he relaxed, letting the strap fall from his hand.

"Hey now, what are you crying about?" he asked, "It's not like you're the one who got shot…" That was when he noticed that Cagalli was wearing only two articles of clothing that just managed to cover her up and he turned around, blushing, "But…before you do anything…could you please put some clothes on?" Cagalli blinked and then realized that she had been standing in front of him in her underwear the whole time and her face turned a brilliant shade of red as she quickly got onto her knees, using the bag to cover up her front. "Um, I think yours are dry by now…" Athrun said and quickly moved so that she could get her clothes, both still blushing.

"Well, I guess I'll just gut and cook this thing by myself, then," Ryo sighed, being used to seeing this sort of thing, and moved over to the fire where Cagalli was taking down her clothes. The two of them looked and blushed even harder when they realized that Ryo had just watched the whole thing and that was when Athrun noticed the limp object in his hand.

"Is that…?" Athrun asked, looking closer at it, "What I think it is?"

"Yup," Ryo nodded, slicing open the underside of the object with his knife, "It's our dinner." It was a medium-sized trout, almost big enough to wrap around his own head and very plump. Cagalli cringed a bit as she watched him reach into it and pull out its insides with his bare hands, having left his gloves near his bag. He tossed these into the fire and started to peel scrape the skin off with the knife while Cagalli dressed herself before moving over to Athrun and pulling the bandages out of his bag. Ryo took the fish outside to wash it out and when he returned, Cagalli was bandaging Athrun's side, though he head to remove the top of his pilot suit so that she could reach the wound. The fish was now on a cleaned rock and Ryo sliced the meat into pieces before reaching into his pocket, puling out a few plants.

"What are those?" Cagalli asked, looking up from her work when she finished.

"Some herbs that I found near the lake," Ryo said as he cut them, "It's not salt or pepper but hopefully, they'll give this thing some flavor."

"How'd you catch it, anyway?" Athrun asked, "None of us have fishing rods…"

"Those rations came in handy after all," Ryo grinned, "They made pretty good bait. And there were some thin vines growing around, so I used that as a line. Took me forever just to get this guy to notice the bait; caught the wrong end of its tail while I was trying to subdue it, too." He pointed at his face and they noticed for the first time a long, thin cut on his cheek. "It didn't bleed too much, but it stung pretty bad for a while. Kind of like getting a paper-cut on your face," he told them, rubbing it a bit with the back of his hand, "It's still throbbing a bit." Eventually, Cagalli finished bandaging Athrun and the two went to help him with the fish, which was soon roasting over the fire on sticks.

"Just one question," Cagalli said, "How'd you know there was a lake here?"

"I saw one before I climbed that tree," Ryo explained, taking a stick and prodding it a bit, "Well, it feels cooked…can't be too careful, though." They waited for another few minutes and by now, the cave was filled with the aroma of cooking fish meat. Ryo took the stick and prodded it again before peeling a piece off and nibbled on it. "I'd say it's safe to eat now," he nodded and took a bite of it. Athrun took his own piece and Cagalli watched them a bit before taking one for herself. The rest of the meal was spent in silence and even after they finished eating, no one said a word for hours until finally, Cagalli was huddled up against the wall, succumbing to the sweet temptation of sleep.

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Dawn broke but for many people, there was no time to stumble around sleepily. Nicol was preparing to leave the Carpentaria Base in a helicopter so that he could begin his search for Athrun. Meanwhile, Mu and Kira had launched the Skygrasper and the Strike from the Archangel to perform an aerial and underwater search for their companions as well. As for the missing soldiers, all of them were still asleep in the cave, the campfire having gone out long ago. Suddenly, Athrun and Kira were awakened by a beeping sound that was coming from the Aegis' cockpit and when the former looked at his watched, he instantly shot up and hurried out to the Aegis. The small commotion woke Cagalli up as well and she watched, confused as Ryo hurried out after Athrun and it took her a while to finally get up and follow them. By now, Athrun had used the zip-line to get to the open cockpit and quickly hit a few switches to activate the radio. "I hope it's what I think it is…" he thought as he got into the seat.

"Athrun…At…run…can you hear me?" a familiar voice crackled over the line, "Plea….respond…Athrun!"

"Nicol? Is that you?"

"Athrun! You're okay!" Nicol exclaimed in relief, "We're heading to your location from the coordinates that we got from your signal. Hang tight!"

"Alright," Athrun nodded and shut off the radio.

"What is it?" Cagalli called out from below, having joined Ryo beneath the Aegis.

"I've made contact with my crew!" Athrun replied and Cagalli glanced at Ryo worriedly, knowing that they had no way to contact the Archangel. Just then, a second reading was picked up on the Aegis' radar and Athrun looked down at the controls.

"From the sea?" he wondered, "But who…?" Meanwhile, Mu's Skygrasper was flying over the ocean when the radar began to react to something in the distance.

"A distress signal?" Mu blinked and looked closer, "Alright! Kid, I found them!" With that, he turned the Skygrasper over and headed in the new direction while the Strike did the same as it sped through the waves.

"My team will be here to pick me up soon," Athrun explained to the other two, having gone back to the ground, "And there are also two signals approaching from somewhere else in the sea. From what I saw, they were coming in the direction of your units and it's not ZAFT's readings, so they're probably your allies."

"Ours?" Cagalli asked excitedly and Ryo cracked a small smile.

"I'll need to hide this guy here for a bit until they leave," Athrun told them, gesturing at the Aegis, "I wanna try to a void a fight here as best as I can."

"Yeah, I guess that's best," Cagalli nodded, "Well, we'll head back to where we left our units now…we can take cover and see who's coming from there."

"Alright," Athrun nodded and Cagalli smiled before taking a look at the Aegis again. Athrun couldn't help but keep his gaze on her for a moment longer before she looked down again.

"Well, guess this is it," Cagalli shrugged, "I guess I'll be seeing you, then…"

"Later, pal," Ryo nodded and gave Athrun a friendly punch on the shoulder as they turned to leave. As they did, Athrun couldn't help himself and called out to the blonde.

"Hey! You're not really a member of the Earth Forces, are you?"

"No!" Cagalli laughed, stopping and facing him, "I'm not!"

"They're not even soldiers…" Athrun thought, remembering Kira, "And yet…everyone's…"

"I'm Cagalli!" she suddenly called out, interrupting his thoughts, "That's my name! Cagalli! What's yours?" Athrun hesitated for a moment but when he saw Ryo give him a knowing nod, he smiled and faced her again.

"Athrun!" he said.

"Cool!" Cagalli smiled and turned, waving as she ran off, "Don't get killed, Athrun!" Athrun smiled as he watched her go and he was turning to go to the Aegis when Ryo's voice suddenly rang out.

"Athrun!" Ryo called out and Athrun turned to face him, "Keep an eye on Nicol for me, will you?"

"Will do," Athrun nodded and Ryo grinned before hurrying off after Cagalli. When he had caught up to her, she was waving at something large that had broken from the surface of the water, a few hundred yards from the downed Skygrasper.

"It's the Strike!" she exclaimed excitedly, "Kira!" Ryo laughed as he watched the Mobile Suit approach before he turned to her.

"Do you think we should tell Kira about Athrun?" he asked, "He'll probably ask us what happened here." They both thought about this for a bit and then laughed as they answered simultaneously.

"Nah."

Phase 24: End


	26. The Land of Peace

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 25- The Land of Peace.

_March 22, C.E. 71, ZAFT army's Carpentaria Base, ZAFT territory_

"I thought that the Legged Ship was heading for Alaska," Athrun said, pointing a spot on the map on the table, "But now, it looks like they've started to head southward."

"South?" Dearka frowned, "Isn't that where ORB's territory is?"

"Yeah. Either they're trying to make contact with them, or it's all a big setup," Athrun nodded, "But either way, we have the upper hand. If we leave now, we should be able to catch up to them by morning."

"Are you sure?" Yzak asked, "Even if we're traveling underwater, it'll take a while to catch up to it in a submarine."

"I'm positive," Athrun replied confidently, "Get some rest, you guys. The battle of Heliopolis ends tomorrow!"

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More than two weeks had passed since Cagalli and Ryo had been retrieved from the deserted island where they had encountered Athrun. Although the crew had pried them with questions the first few days, they eventually let it go and it became nothing more than a memory. During this time, the Archangel had passed through the Strait of Malacca, the narrow channel of ocean that separated Malaysia and Indonesia. Although they were ambushed by waiting ZAFT forces there, Kira, Ryo, and Mu were able to fight them off successfully and the ship went on without further incident, sailing smoothly for eight days. Also along the trip was Flay's sixteenth birthday, celebrated by her friends. Today, however, the Zala Team, who had been delayed due to a malfunction in their new mother ship, the Vosgulov-class submarine carrier the Cousteau, was preparing to take their turn in the battles. "Heat signatures on the radar!" Pal announced, "Four Mobile Suits approaching from the rear!"

"Can you identify them?" Natarle asked while everyone tensed up.

"X-102, X-103…" Pal frowned, "That's…!"

"Creuset's unit?" Murrue exclaimed, "Here?"

"There's no mistaking it," Tonomura confirmed.

"Alright then," Murrue nodded, "All hands, Level One Battle Stations!"

"Crewman Second Class Haw, prepare the Strike, X, and Skygrasper for launch!" Natarle ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" Miriallia nodded, "Lieutenant Commander Flaga and Ensigns Yamato and Mouri, proceed to the launching area! I repeat…" Meanwhile, the Zala Team, consisting of the four stolen Gundams, was slowly closing in on the Archangel, each standing on what looked like a miniature plane.

"These airborne Guuls don't maneuver too well," Athrun warned, "We'll become an easy target if we get too close. Keep your distance and go for their engines!"

"Roger that!" Nicol nodded as they closed in.

"Ready the Valiant Cannon!" Natarle said inside the ship, "Bombard them with Igelstellung fire!" As the Archangel's CIW guns opened fire on the approaching units, Dearka made the first move by combining the Buster's weapons into its anti-armor shotgun and fired a blast from it.

"Evade!" Murrue shouted and Neumann moved the ship to the side. Unfortunately, he was too slow and the shot grazed the starboard Gottfried compartment, shaking the bridge.

"We're never gonna get through!" Dearka complained, "Not with such an obvious attack like this!"

"Load all aft missile pods!" Natarle ordered, "One salvo of Wombat missiles and follow up with two light rounds from the Valiants!" All of the missile pods that faced backwards opened up before releasing their contents. Moments later, the starboard Valiant cannon fired two bursts at the other three Mobile Suits. All of them dodged and while Nicol shot down the missiles that got too close to the Blitz, Athrun fired at the ship with the Aegis' beam rifle. After two misses, his third shot hit it on the side. Yzak maneuvered the Duel over above the Archangel and fired two shots from its Shiva railgun and unleashed his own salvo of missiles. The Igelstellung guns on the Archangel immediately detected the projectiles and shot them down while the ship itself moved to dodge the railgun bursts.

"What are you doing, Dearka?" Yzak asked irritably, "Hurry up and cut the Legged Ship off!"

"I know!" Dearka scowled as he fired two shots from the Buster's high energy beam rifle, "Get out of my hair already!" On the Archangel, the Strike and X Gundams were standing on its hull trying to shoot at the other four from there. However, it was difficult to track them from their positions with all the chaos going on around them.

"That guy…" Kira grunted as a shot hit the hull next to him and smoke filled the air. Meanwhile, Mu was flying around in the Skygrasper, doing his best to provide aerial support. Charging the Buster, he fired off a blast from the Agni cannon and forced Dearka to retreat. The Archangel fired a salvo of Helldart missiles from beneath the back of the bridge and one of them hit the Duel. Unfortunately, the weapon was useless against its Phase Shift Armor and the Mobile Suit emerged unscathed, although Yzak was very annoyed.

"I can't dodge this…" he frowned, "This stupid Guul is so damn clumsy!"

"Yzak, be careful!" Athrun said, "Don't go too far in by yourself!"

"Shut up!" Yzak replied hotly, "I'll do whatever the hell I want!"

"We have to go for their engines," Athrun reminded them, "Nicol, see if you can dig in from their left flank!"

"Sir!" Nicol replied and had the Blitz dodge a shot from the Skygrasper before it headed for the Archangel.

"As long as this one goes down," Athrun thought as he maneuvered the Aegis over the ship before firing two bursts from the beam rifle. Both shots hit an Igelstellung gun that was tracking him and destroyed them. Kira and Ryo saw this and both shot at the Aegis as it flew overhead. Ryo and Athrun could sense that they were looking at each other and frowned as they remembered a conversation that they had had while on the island when Cagalli was sleeping.

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_Flashback_

It was getting late and Athrun was about to go to sleep again before Ryo finally said out of no where, "You know…I think I know you from somewhere…"

"Oh?" Athrun asked, not really caring, "How so?"

"You're the pilot of the Aegis," Ryo replied, "The guy who asked Kira to go with him when he handed over Lacus to the Creuset Team." Athrun nodded and Ryo smiled a bit before adding, "I thought so…you're Athrun Zala, aren't you?"

"How do you…?"

"Kira once said that he had a friend by that name," Ryo explained, "He told Lacus and I that a person called 'Athrun Zala' was a friend of his from his days on the Lunar Prep. School on Copernicus. He also mentioned that Athrun was the pilot of the Aegis."

"Well, aren't you observant?" Athrun remarked, smiling a bit, "So tell me, how do you know Kira?"

"I met him when I first moved to Heliopolis," he said, "My name's Ryo Mouri."

"You're Ryo Mouri?" Athrun asked surprised, "So you're Nicol's friend! He told me about you before we came down to Earth!"

"Nicol?" Ryo blinked, "Who's that?"

"You…" Athrun gaped, "You don't…remember?"

"Well, the truth is," Ryo explained, "I can't remember anything that happened before a year ago. My parents told me that it was from a car accident, but…"

"So you can't remember anything?"

"Barely anything," Ryo said, correcting him, "According to my mom, I was in a coma for a good few years before I woke up. I've picked up bits and pieces of my history here and there…I knew you once, Athrun."

"We knew each other?"

"You, me, and Lacus," he told him, "When we were kids…before you went to Copernicus, I think. Our dads were good friends back then, if what my mom told me was correct."

"That's right," Athrun nodded, recalling his visit to Lacus, "Your father was the representative for the Junius cluster, wasn't he?" At this, Ryo's calm demeanor broke and he looked at his feet, "Oh…sorry. I forgot…"

"I lost everything that day…" Ryo sighed, "My home, my family...my innocence. Only a friend of mine managed to escape with me."

"But how?" Athrun asked, "The Earth Forces attacked without warning. No one knew it would happen."

"My grandfather was a prophet," Ryo said, making up a story, "He saw what would happen in the stars and asked to have me sent away. For the first time, he was right." There was silence for a few moments before he thought, "He too suffered from a mistake I made…surely, he deserves to know…" "Hey, Athrun…can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"What would you do if…" Ryo asked, "If you found out that everything that you were fighting for was false? That it was all just a big lie?"

"Well, I guess I'd be confused…kind of mad, I guess," Athrun shrugged, "But why do you ask? We all saw Junius Seven go up in flames. My father even announced what had happened. The Earth Forces had dropped nukes on…"

"What you saw and heard was what your father wanted the people of PLANT to think had happened," Ryo said, cutting him off, "But I was there…I saw what really happened that day. This whole war is a big mistake."

"How…?"

"I guess I should explain," Ryo told him, "You know that unit I pilot, right? The X?"

"Yeah," Athrun nodded, "The Earth Forces Mobile Suit that almost shot down the Vesalius during that battle in space…"

"That Mobile Suit, Athrun, wasn't built by ORB. They didn't even know about it," Ryo said, "The X was actually designed and built to replace the Ginn Mobile Suits. By ZAFT."

"ZAFT designed that Mobile Suit?" Athrun gaped, "But…but that's…"

"It was my father who first proposed the idea," Ryo sighed, "And although most of the council disagreed, your father was one of the few who supported the idea. And since he's the National Defense Chairman back at PLANT, he was able to begin the development of the Mobile Suit in complete secret with my father. Only a select few were trusted with that secret; even the other council members were kept in the dark about it. For added secrecy, the site of the project was placed at a Colony that no one would ever think was hiding a military weapon: Junius Seven."

"But Junius Seven is…!"

"I know, and that's why it worked so well," Ryo nodded, "With Junius Seven being a simple agricultural PLANT, no one ever suspected what was going on deep in its interior. However, my father also had some friends in the Earth Forces, one of them being the late Admiral Halberton of the Eighth Fleet. Somehow, he managed to find out about the new Mobile Suit and informed OMNI as soon as he could. With the project's cover blown, the Earth Forces immediately sent a strike team to neutralize the Colony. However, the original plan was to evacuate the civilians and then destroy it, with the Mobile Suit inside. That same day, though, I was performing a test run to check its Mobile Armor mode when the radar reacted when the Earth Forces fleet got close. I attacked them and did what I could, but when the unit's batter started to wear down, I had to take drastic measures."

"That weapon that you used?" Athrun asked, "The one that…?"

"Yes," Ryo said, "I needed something to finish the battle quickly, so I decided to use the X's Satellite Cannon."

"How does it work, exactly?" Athrun asked, hoping to get some information.

"Sorry, Athrun," Ryo smile slightly, "That's classified."

"Well, what happened next?"

"I activated the Satellite System and fired," Ryo told him, "That's…when things started to go wrong…" Seeing Athrun's quizzical look, he said, "One of their Mobile Armors managed to get a nuke out. I managed to intercept it with the Satellite Cannon, but…"

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Ryo was startled from his memories when he saw a bright flash from the side monitor. The Blitz, unable to get to the engines, had taken the initiative and fired its Lancer Darts, three hyperfast kinetic energy pentrators that were essentially long, spear-like spikes that detonated when lodged in a target, at the port Valiant cannon. The result was that the spikes had sunken deep into the weapon, they immediately self-detonated and blew the linear gun off of the ship. Meanwhile, the Aegis had gotten to the Archangel's other side and had fired its beam rifle before launching a salvo of missiles from the Guul it was riding on, hitting the starboard missile pods. "Igelstellung guns numbers 4 and 5 have been destroyed!" Chandra warned, "We've lost the port Valiant!"

"Damage to the ship is approaching over 25!" Tonomura added.

"Aegis and Blitz are approaching!" Pal said.

"Aim the Wombats at the Guuls!" Natarle ordered, "Relay that to Strike and X as well!"

"Guul?" Miriallia asked, "What's that?"

"The things that those Mobile Suits are riding on," Tonomura replied, "They're ZAFT's way for letting non-atmospheric Mobile Suits fly even in the atmosphere."

"Right," Miriallia nodded and contacted Kira and Ryo, telling them the new objective.

"Fire Wombats!" Natarle said and the Archangel fired its missiles again while its Igelstellung guns shot down a barrage of missiles from the enemy Guuls.

"I don't believe this!" Tolle muttered while Kuzzey was cowering in his seat, "Those bastards chased us all the way out here!" Outside, Aegis avoided a Wombat missile before using its head-mounted Igelstellung guns to shoot down two more. Quickly, it veered aside to avoid a shot from the Strike and returned fire at once. Just then, Yzak charged forward in the Duel and started shooting at the Strike with its Shiva railgun.

"Back off, Athrun!" he snarled, "That guy's mine!" With that, he shot the Duel's beam rifle as he continued to charge in, passing by the Aegis.

"Wait, Yzak!" Athrun called out, "Don't be so reckless!" Down below, the Strike had blocked the shot with its shield and Kira took aim before sending a bolt of energy from the Strike's beam rifle. The beam lanced through the Duel's Guul, frying its circuits and disrupting its engine.

"Dammit!" Yzak swore as the Duel leaped to escape from the Guul as it exploded, "I'll get you, Strike!" He had the Duel draw its beam saber as gravity caught up to it and it started to fall towards the Archangel.

"He's going to try and board us?" Kira gaped as the Strike set down its beam rifle, "He's crazy!" Nonetheless, the Strike flew off from the hull to meet the Duel and drew its own beam saber. Both units swung their weapons at each other and luck proved to be on Kira's side today, for the blade of his saber found the uppermost section of the Duel's saber handle and cut right through it, rendering it useless.

"What the…?" Yzak cringed, "How the hell did he…?"

"Yzak!" Nicol called out and pushed the Guul's engines as fast as they would go as the Duel continued to plummet towards the ocean, "Hold on!" Kira saw this and proceeded to use the Duel as a makeshift springboard, having the Strike push off of it towards the incoming Blitz to gain additional altitude.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Yzak yelled as the Duel fell towards the water, "Crap!" In desperation, he turned the Duel over and fired at the Strike with the Shiva, only to miss as the Strike nimbly dodged the shots before the Duel entered the water with a great splash.

"Oh man!" Nicol cringed and tried to pull away but it was too late, the Strike had reached the Blitz and slammed its shield into it, knocking the stealth Mobile Suit from the craft before jamming its saber into the Guul, destroying it.

"Nicol!" Athrun shouted and fired at the Strike, which dodged and blocked another shot with its shield before it landed back on the Archangel's hull and picked up its beam rifle again.

"Took you long enough," Ryo said when he noticed that Kira was back, "What took you?"

"The Blitz was higher up than I thought," Kira panted as the Strike and X exchanged fire with the Aegis, his adrenaline still pumping.

"His piloting skills…" Athrun thought as the Aegis dodged the shots, "They've improved dramatically since we last fought…Kira…" Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the combatants, a single unmanned aircraft was circling the battlefield, recording the fight. As it did so, it was sending the images back to a fleet of ships in the distance, which in turn, was broadcasting it to the homeland…

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"The images that you are seeing now is a live feed recorded by our patrol aircraft," a reporter announced as the images of the battle were shown on large screens across the city, "There appears to be a fierce battle occurring only 20Km outside of our country's territorial waters. However, the government has already deployed the military to the area have called an emergency meeting to discuss the matter. It seems that the forces from the ZAFT army's Carpentaria base have engaged a ship from the Earth Forces Panama headquarters. Their governments are issuing a demand for control over the situation as well as the withdrawal of both armies from their respective territories. There is currently no reason, however, for immediate alarm." The news broadcast was being shown in the country of the ORB Union, a nation that had declared itself neutral since the beginning of the conflict. Its unique political system split the control of the government amongst five noble families, all of whom had originally ruled over the island since its founding. Though small inside, it had considerable technological and military strength thanks to its nondiscriminatory policy towards Coordinators and its many active volcanoes provided it with nearly limitless geothermal energy. Its own mass driver, the Kaguya, was one of the ORB Union's most prized possessions. Currently, a meeting was being held by ORB's government in the Prime Minister's Residence.

"Mr. Uzumi, sir," Representative Omura said, "What will you do about this?" The addressee, Uzumi Nara Athha, was ORB's Chief Representative, a man entering his forties with a mane of brown hair combed neatly behind his head.

"As far as our treaty stands, there are no exceptions regarding armed ships from other nations approaching our territorial waters," Uzumi replied, "What they're showing doesn't look good. We can only hope to avoid a conflict."

"It seems so," Omura nodded before waving his assistant closer while Uzumi frowned as the broadcast when on.

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Meanwhile, the battle raged on as the Strike, X, and Skygrasper struggled to defend the Archangel from the Zala Team. Inside, the shaking of the ship was making it hard to walk around, even for Cagalli as she stumbled through the hallways towards the lift.

"Cagalli, wait!" Kisaka called out to her when she was in it, "What are you planning to do?"

"Don't try to stop me! You know that if this keeps up, we'll get shot down!" Cagalli replied, pushing his hands off of her shoulders where he had put them, "ORB is right nearby…." The doors closed and as the lift brought them up to the bridge, her thoughts drifted back to Athrun. "This…we don't have a choice…." Cagalli muttered and then slammed her fist into the wall, "Damn!" Outside, Athrun himself was trying to get another shot in when his radar began to act up, as well as everyone else's. Turning, he saw a fleet of ships, arranged in perfect formation, approaching from the left. Even as they cut through the water, they started to launch squadrons of Combat Helicopters from their decks. These were Aegis ships, large gunboats that made the ORB union's naval fleet. These ships had a unique structure that divided their hull into three sections, other wise known as trimaran construction.

"Ma'am, the ORB fleet is approaching the territorial boundary line," Chandra said to Natarle, "They're about 4500 clicks ahead at two o'clock."

"What?"

"Did they come to save us?" Kuzzey asked hopefully while Pal glanced at him crossly.

"We've gone too close to their territory!" Murrue said, "Steer fifteen to port!"

"But…" Neumann argued as Kuzzey and Tolle looked up in surprise.

"If we go in any further, they're bound to shoot at us," Murrue told him.

"No way…" Kuzzey moaned, all hope now gone.

"ORB isn't one of our allies," Murrue explained, "Even during peace time, they've never gotten themselves involved in the business of other nations. They're no different in times of war."

"Don't worry about it!" a voice said behind them and everyone looked to see Cagalli and Kisaka standing near the door, "Just go into the territory! I'll take care of the fleet. Hurry!"

"Ms. Cagalli…" Murrue blinked, "What…?"

"There's a message coming in from the ORB fleet," Chandra announced, "I'll put it on the speakers."

"Attention, approaching ZAFT and Earth Alliance ships!" the messenger said, "You are approaching ORB territory, change your course immediately! Our country does not allow the entrance of armed vessels, fighters, or Mobile Suits. Stop your advance now!"

"Hmph," Yzak snorted, still sitting in the Duel, which had been recovered by the Cousteau, "What are those morons babbling about?"

"I repeat, change your course immediately!" the fleet captain said, "This is your final warning! If your ships do not slow down and change course, we reserve the right to open fire on your ships!"

"Attack us?" Kuzzey gaped, "No way…"

"What's so neutral about this nation anyway?" Chandra muttered to Tonomura, "The Archangel was built by ORB…wouldn't that make it one of their ships?"

"Don't listen to them!" Cagalli told Murrue, "Just keep going into their territory!" With that, she went up to where Kuzzey was sitting and snatched the earpiece from his ear and put it on her own. "How can you say stuff like that even after everything that's happened?" she demanded, talking to the captain, "The Archangel will now enter ORB territory! Do not attack!"

"What?" the captain fumed, making a video link to the Archangel, "Who the hell are you?"

"I should ask you the same thing!" Cagalli snapped, "If you can't make a decision, then put your superior on the line!" As everyone watched, she added forcibly, "My father…Put Uzumi Nara Athha on the line!" When this earned her confused looks from everyone but Kisaka, she added, "I'm…I'm Cagalli! Cagalli Yula Athha!" At this, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Even the combatants ceased firing at each other and stared at the ship.

"Cagalli?" Athrun thought, startled, "Cagalli is…Chief Representative Athha's daughter?"

"Athha?" Sai asked, glancing at Miriallia.

"ORB's Prime Minister?" Miriallia blinked, just as confused.

"What kind of crap are you trying to pull?" the ORB captain asked, although he too was visibly shaken, "There's no way his Excellency's daughter would be on a ship like that!"

"What was that?" Cagalli fumed, now annoyed to the point of bursting and Kuzzey was starting to get uncomfortable from being so close to her.

"Even if it was the truth," the captain said, "I can't heed that claim without solid evidence."

"You listen here, bastard, I…!" Cagalli never finished her sentence as the link was cut off. All of a sudden, the ship shook violently and the combatants turned the attention to the Buster, who had gotten behind the ship.

"You guys can yap all you want!" Dearka smirked, "They'll sink before they even make it into the territory!" He charged in, firing the Buster's weapons as he did and hit the hull, "I'll make sure of that!"

"You damn leech!" Mu swore and fired the Agni at the Buster, which dodged and retaliated with its gun launcher. The Skygrasper nimbly avoided the shots and sped off as they hit the water.

"Dearka, don't get too close, you'll get hit by the ORB's cannon fire!" Athrun warned, "Find a detour!"

"What detour?" Dearka argued but while he was distracted, Ryo took aim and shot a beam of energy through the Buster's Guul with its beam rifle. "Damn!" Dearka swore and the Buster jumped as the Guul exploded.

"Eat this!" Mu shouted and fired again. Buster dodged and combined its weapons into its anti-armor shotgun. Turning, it fired, the sheer force of the recoil pushing it back several yards in the air. This time, it was Dearka's turn to get lucky, for the rounds slammed into the Archangel's main engines and damaged them, shaking the ship with such force that Cagalli was knocked off of her feet and would have gone flying across the bridge if Kisaka hadn't caught her.

"Engines 1 and 2 have been hit! Blocks 48 through 55 have sealed off!" Neumann announced, "We're losing power fast! We can't maintain altitude!"

"Athrun," Kira thought and lifted off from the hull before the Strike and Aegis started to exchange fire.

"Turn left!" Murrue ordered, "We're heading right into ORB territory!"

"It can't be helped now," Kisaka replied grimly holding onto Cagalli even as the ship descended, "Just pretend you've lost control and head towards the fleet." When he received several odd glances from the bridge crew, he added with a rare smile, "Don't worry about it; the gunmen of ORB's Second Defense Fleet are the best. They'll take care of everything."

"Alright then," Murrue nodded, "Maintain our current course!" Slowly, the great ship sank through the air before it fell into the water, still floating as it drifted past the ORB fleet.

"So, you want us to play along, huh?" the ORB captain thought and grinned, "You're gonna owe me one for this…Colonel." "Prepare to open fire, but don't hit the Archangel!" he said.

"Yes sir!"

"Since your ship has ignored our warnings," he said into the speakers, "Our country will now exercise its right to defend itself!" With that, all of the Aegis ships launched salvos of missiles into the air while their main cannons opened fire as well. Kisaka's claim, however, proved to be true as the rounds struck convincingly close to the Archangel to give the impression that they really were shooting to hit it. The Aegis dodged some missiles and was about to fire at the ship again but then a squad of Combat Helicopters got into his way. Frowning and cursing his luck, Athrun bid a hasty retreat in the Aegis while the ORB fleet moved towards the Archangel.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Is this really alright, Mr. Uzumi?"

"It's a tense situation," Uzumi sighed as he got up, "But as of now, we have no choice. Is the official announcement ready?"

"The second draft is done."

"Good," he nodded, taking the paper before handing it to Representative Omura, "Use Plan D, Version 2 when we make the official statement." He glanced around the table before adding, "Very well, I'll leave the rest to you. In the mean time, I'll handle that ship and Morgenroete. It would be best if we took full advantage of its presence now."

"But won't that be too risky?" Omura asked as Uzumi headed for the door.

"Even if you say that now, there's no other way," Uzumi replied, "Besides, aren't we the ones who got ourselves into this mess in the first place?"

"I suppose," Omura nodded and the other Representatives agreed silently as Uzumi opened the door and left. Meanwhile, the ORB fleet was escorting the battered Archangel towards one of its territories, Onogoro Island.

"Anchor down at the wharf like we instructed," the captain told them as they lead them over to what looked like a massive sea-side cliff. Outside on the hull, Kira and Ryo had climbed out of their Mobile Suits and were taking a break after having fought, letting the breeze cool them off. As Kira watched the Aegis ships nearby, Ryo leaned against the X's massive foot and let his thoughts drift again. Back on the island, he had told Athrun the real story behind the Bloody Valentine tragedy. Needless to say, the young ZAFT pilot hadn't taken the story too well.

-----------------------------------------------------------

_Flashback_

"Then it was you?" Athrun gaped, "You were the one…"

"There's not a single moment when I don't regret it," Ryo sighed, gazing into the fire, "I only wanted to protect…yet I ended up destroying what I was trying to…" At that moment, he was knocked flat on his back and when he got his bearing together, he realized that Athrun had leaped at him and was now pinning him to the ground, his knife in hand.

"You bastard, how can you say that so calmly?" Athrun snarled, anger written all over his face, "My mother was on that colony!"

"I know," Ryo said calmly even as Athrun's grip on his collar tightened, "Mine was too…" Athrun raised his knife higher and Ryo added, "So…now that you know the truth…are you gonna kill me too?" Surprised, Athrun relaxed a bit, "I don't blame you…no one in their right mind would ever forgive me after what I've done. Massacring all of those people, whether it was intentional or not."

"And you still just let it go like it was nothing?" Athrun frowned, "What kind of person are you?"

"Did I say I let it go? Did I say I just brushed it off?" Ryo asked, more demanding, "That fireball…I see it every time I sleep, every time I dream! Hell, I see it every moment when I'm not fighting! I'm a person who regrets what he's done and who's suffering from it! That's what I am!" As Athrun stared, Ryo said to him, "Tell me, Athrun, what do you think determines the future? Is it our own actions or is it fate?"

"I've…" Athrun blinked, now confused, "I don't…I never really gave that much thought…"

"Then I'll tell you what I think," Ryo said, "I think that the future is determined by both your actions and fate. It's your actions that affect fate and make it what it is. That's what I think." By now, Athrun's anger had subsided somewhat and he had gotten off of Ryo, allowing him to sit up, "Maybe it was fate that made me do what I did that day, or maybe it was from my own choices. I don't know, but whatever it is, what's done is done, and I've got to pay the price for it." Saying that, he reached down and pulled his gun from its holster, "So, Athrun, if you could take revenge on those innocent people and kill their murderer…" He flipped the gun around and held the handle out to Athrun, "Would you do it? Even if that person was an old friend of yours?"

"Are you…" Athrun asked, "Are you asking me to kill you?"

"That depends on how you look at it," Ryo shrugged.

"Then no," Athrun said, shaking his head, "Killing them would only put them out of their misery. If you really are sorry for what you did, then live with the pain." With that, he pushed the offered gun away and went back to his spot in the cave.

"Heh, I thought you'd say something like that," Ryo smiled and put the gun away before leaning against a wall, "So…what's been going on at PLANT these past few years?"

_End flashback_

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"Ryo, look!" Kira suddenly exclaimed, breaking him from his thoughts, "The wall!" Ryo glanced up and saw that the Archangel had turned around so that it was facing away from the island. Behind it, the cliff face had slid down to reveal a large dock inside the cliff.

"Well, will you look at that?" Ryo smiled, standing up straighter to get a better look, "This place sure is full of surprises, huh?" The ship began to back into the hangar and by the time it was already in, the Strike and X had been returned to the Mobile Suit hangar inside the ship and the ship itself was preparing to be locked down.

"Onogoro is the location for both ORB's military and Morgenroete," Kisaka explained on the bridge, "This hangar is so well hidden that it's impossible to see it from the outside, even with satellites."

"Don't you think that it's time you told us who you really are?" Murrue asked and Natarle, who had come up from the CIC, agreed with a nod.

"Colonel Ledonir Kisaka of the 27th Airborne Division, ORB Special Forces Unit," Kisaka replied, snapping a quick salute, "But right now, my job is to look after the boss's daughter. So you can basically I'm just baby-sitting."

"So he's a bodyguard?" Miriallia whispered to Sai down below as they listened, "Then she really is…"

"How in the world did you end up in the Resistance, then?" Mu asked, "If she's the Prime Minister's daughter…"

"Well, it's a long story," Kisaka chuckled, "Yes sir! In a nutshell, it all started with a father daughter conflict!"

"But how can I possibly allow myself to accept your offer?" Murrue asked, "After everything that's happened, you still helped us through it. You're even making repairs…"

"Why don't you save that for the man who you'll meet later on?" Kisaka replied while Cagalli avoided eye contact with the rest of the staring crew, "The heir to ORB, Uzumi Nara Athha."

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"Are they seriously telling everyone to just believe this load of crap?" Yzak fumed and slammed his hand down onto a piece of paper lying on the table. The paper was actually a formal written report from the ORB forces that they had received and having just read it, not everyone was particularly pleased with the message.

"'The Legged Ship has already left ORB territory…' Do they really think we're gonna stop at that?" Dearka asked sarcastically, "They're obviously playing us for idiots. Is it 'cause our leader's too young and inexperienced?"

"Dearka!" Nicol frowned, standing up for his friend.

"I could care less about stuff like that," Athrun said plainly, surprising the others, "But as long as this is ORB's official statement, there's nothing that we can do about it, even if we try to prove that they're wrong."

"Just what are you saying?" Yzak asked, frowning.

"If we attack them, then the mainland will eventually get involved too," Athrun explained, "In a matter of days, we'll have a diplomatic crisis on our hands." Yzak continued to fume silently when all of a sudden, his expression changed to a calm one at a startling rate and he relaxed his posture with a smirk.

"Heh, always making such reserved decision, Athrun," Yzak sneered, "Or should I say, 'Commander Zala?'"

"So what now?" Dearka asked, "Do we just pack up and leave saying, 'So that's how it is'?"

"I'll try to get Carpentaria to put some pressure on them," Athrun said, "But if we can't get anything done soon, then we'll have to sneak in and investigate ourselves." His last statement surprised everyone again, even Yzak looked interested. "Any questions?"

"Are you trying to figure out the Legged Ship's movements?" Nicol asked.

"Yeah," Athrun nodded, "But regardless, our enemy is only one nation. We can't go convicting other people so recklessly without some evidence first."

"What the hell are you so scared of, Athrun?" Dearka asked out of the blue, "If we attack them, then we'll find the Legged Ship! Isn't that a good enough reason?"

"It's different from Heliopolis," Athrun replied, "We're talking about taking on an entire country here. I'm sure that you all know about ORB's superior technology thanks to their wide gene pool. Though it's peaceful on the outside, we can't be too sure of what they're hiding in their factories."

"Alright then," Yzak smirked, surprising Dearka and Nicol, "I'll follow your orders for now." He turned for the door, "Although, if I were leader, I would have just attacked them and gotten it over with. You're definitely Chairman Zala's kid." Dearka got up and joined him at the door as it hissed open before Yzak added, "But…sneaking in sounds like it could be some fun. Besides, who knows? Maybe if I'm lucky, I might be able to catch a glimpse of Strike's pilot." Athrun cringed inside at this as Yzak and Dearka left the room."

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Later, back on the Archangel, the students were sitting in the cafeteria, pondering over their situation. "Who would've thought that we'd come home to ORB like this?" Tolle asked, glancing at the view screen that showed the hangar the Archangel was docked in

"I hear ya," Ryo nodded, leaning back in his seat, "Getting captured by your own country's army when they're neutral…how embarrassing."

"Hey, what do you think happens in times like this?" Kuzzey suddenly asked, "Is it still too late to leave the ship?"

"Leave?" Sai blinked, "What do mean?"

"Well, I know that I can't be discharged during missions," Kuzzey explained, "But maybe…well, you know, a vacation or something…"

"The probability of that is slim," Neumann said from behind them, "Not really all I can say, but…we do have to take some time for repairs, so, there might be a slight chance for a break."

"Hey, that's right!" Kuzzey smiled and everyone's faces brightened a bit at the prospect of a short vacation.

"However, this is a pretty difficult place," Neumann pointed out, "It's a wonder that they even let us dock here." At that moment, the door opened and Kira walked in, greeting the others with a nod before heading for the counter. "Either way, it seems that ORB is going to be better off with us around," he continued as Kira grabbed two bottles, "We won't know the details until the Captain returns."

"They're meeting with Prime Minister Athha, aren't they?" Tiffa asked, "To discuss the situation?"

"Yeah."

"My mom and dad are here in ORB," Miriallia said softly and most of the others nodded, knowing that their own families would probably be here as well.

"You wanna see them?" Neumann asked and every eye in the room turned to him, even Kira stopped walking to listen before he added, "I guess that would be nice…" Kira started walking again and minutes later, came to Flay's room. The said red-head was recovering from her sea-sickness quite well and was looking at the view screen, which Birdy was perching on, when Kira came into the room.

"Flay?" he asked as she shut off the screen, "Do you want to see what's going on outside?"

"No, not really," Flay sighed as Kira came closer, "But it's so boring on this ship."

"Here," Kira said, handing her a bottle.

"Thanks," she nodded and took it as he sat down next to her.

"You know, the others were saying that we might be able to get off of the ship for a little in the future," Kira told her, trying to cheer her up.

"Really?" Flay asked, not sounding too interested.

"Hey, Flay," Kira said, "You have a home here in ORB too, don't you?"

"Yeah…but there's no one there anymore," Flay replied sadly, "My mom passed away when I was little…and now my dad…" Kira sighed and looked at his feet, still pained by his failure to protect her father. Flay leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder and he didn't move, knowing how she felt. Meanwhile, outside, a short, middle-aged woman was walking along the ramp that led into the ship. She was on the round side, a large suitcase in her hand and brown hair reaching past her shoulders. There was a frown on her face as she entered but it quickly reverted to surprise when she almost bumped into Ryo and Tiffa, who were rounding the corner.

"Whoa, what the…?" Ryo blinked, looking down at her and then noticed her suitcase, "Look, lady, this is a battle ship, not an airplane, civilians aren't allowed on here unless it's an emergency. But in case you're just lost, the airport's anywhere but here."

"Are you taking me for an idiot?" the woman asked angrily and tried to stomp on his foot, only Ryo's Coordinator reflexes managed to move it out of the way in time, "I'm here for the lady!"

"Um, one problem, grandma," Ryo said, unfazed by her actions, "There are currently four on this ship, five if you want to count yourself. First one's Tiffa here, then there's Milly, there's the bit- ahem Flay, and then there's that weird tomboy, Cagalli…"

"The lady is really here?" the woman asked, now ecstatic, "Quick, take me to her now!"

"Wait, hold on a sec', just who the heck are you?" Ryo blinked, "Her mother or something?"

"Close enough," the woman said, ignoring the question, "Where is she?"

"Jeez, keep your hair on, we were just going to see her ourselves," Ryo told her, gesturing to Tiffa, "You can come if you want, but if people start looking at us weird, you're on your own!" The woman ignored him and just insisted that he take her to Cagalli, so Ryo sighed in exasperation and grudgingly started down the hallway, with Tiffa and the strange woman not too far behind. After walking by several doors, Ryo finally found Cagalli's room and knocked, "Hey, Cagalli, you in there?"

"Yeah," she replied from the other side, "You can come in, if you want." Ryo pressed a button and the door hissed open. Cagalli looked up from inside and when the strange woman pushed past Ryo, the look on both of their faces changed into a surprised one. "Um…" Cagalli blinked, "Hey…Myrna…"

"Princess!" the woman now known as Myrna gasped and dropped the suitcase before pulling the surprised Cagalli into a tight hug, "Oh my goodness, I was so worried!"

"Well, I'll just…leave you two alone now," Ryo blinked, "You two go on and…catch up on old times or something…come on, Tiffa." When the younger girl nodded, he closed the door and left Cagalli alone with the woman.

"Just look at you," Myrna said, absentmindedly trying to fix Cagalli's hair, "You can't go see your father like this…well, it's a good thing I brought your clothes." Cagalli noticed the suitcase and suddenly had a good idea of what was in it.

"Oh no, no way!" Cagalli protested, "I'm not gonna wear that!"

"Oh yes you are," Myrna replied sternly as she set the suitcase on the bed and opened it, "As the Prime Minister's daughter, it's your responsibility to make a good impression on people." As she pulled something out of the suitcase, she noticed Cagalli trying to sneak away and grabbed hold of her t-shirt. "Now you hold it right there, young lady," she said as Cagalli struggled, "You're going to look decent even if I have to wrestle this thing onto you! Now, off with your shirt!"

"No!" Cagalli argued, tugging down on her shirt while Myrna tried to pull it up, "You can't make me!" Pulling to the right, Cagalli managed to twist away and made a break for the door before Myrna got a hold on the back of her shirt and with a surprising burst of strength, pulled her right back. "Wah!" she cried out as she pulled down her shirt and tried to run around Myrna while she was still holding onto her shirt, "Ryo! Tiffa! Heeeelllp!"

"Did you just hear something?" Ryo suddenly asked, stopping in his tracks.

"It sounded like Cagalli," Tiffa nodded, "She was calling for help…maybe she's being attacked!"

"Dammit, I knew we shouldn't have left her with a stranger!" Ryo swore and the two hurried back to Cagalli's room. When they reached it, they could hear the sounds of a struggle and they were certain that the blonde was in trouble. "Cagalli!" Ryo called out as he hit the door switch, "Hold on, I-what the hell?" As soon as the door had slid open and he had stuck his head in, Cagalli's red t-shirt fluttered down onto his head, now stripped from its wearer. Confused, Ryo pulled the shirt off of his head and was then met with a loud scream and something hard hitting him in the face. "Ahh!" he shouted, covering his eyes and turning his head, "WTF, mate?"

"You perv, not now!" a furious Cagalli exclaimed as she blushed a heavy shade of red, covering her front, "Get out of here!"

"Make up your mind!" Ryo shouted as he stumbled out of the room, "God damn…"

"Ryo?" Tiffa asked, having been outside of the room when this was happening, "What's wrong? Is she…"

"Soap…"

"What?" Tiffa blinked, completely confused, "What are you…?"

"Soap!" Ryo repeated, more desperately this time, "My eyes need freakin' soap!"

"I heard that!" Cagalli shouted from inside, "Ow! Myrna, my arms don't bend that way!"

"Well they wouldn't have to if you'd just hold still!" Myrna replied and then muttered under her breath, "And all of my friends ask me just why I look so old for my age…"

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"As you know, ORB is a neutral nation."

"Yes, Mr. Uzumi," Murrue nodded. She, along with Mu and Natarle, were seated in front of a large wooden table inside a meeting room in the ORB Ministry of National Defense. Seated in front of them was Uzumi, who had come to discuss the situation with them.

"Officially, it was reported that your ship had been chased by our fleet and that you escaped afterwards," Uzumi said.

"I see."

"If you don't mind, Mr. Uzumi," Mu suddenly interrupted, "But I can't help but wonder if the only reason you took us in was because we had your daughter aboard."

"Do you really think that I would risk the fate of my own country…" Uzumi frowned, "Just for the sake of the life a whiny little girl? I highly doubt that those two priorities can be compared."

"My apologies, sir," Mu nodded.

"But then again, perhaps it would have been easier for me if you had just said that in the first place," Uzumi said, his expression softening, "The incident at Heliopolis…and the children who were caught up in the conflict and eventually became volunteers…as well as the activity of the X-numbers on the battlefield. Due to your small crew size, I had initially considered that it would be best to just have your ship and Mobile Suits shot down, rather than jeopardize the safety of ORB. However, despite everything that I know, I can't guarantee if this is the whole story."

"I apologize…for what happened to Heliopolis and the children," Murrue told him, bowing her head slightly while Natarle frowned, "Although it's not my place to tell you this, I'm personally somewhat embarrassed about the whole incident."

"That's good," Uzumi nodded, seeming pleased, "We too had a part in this as well. Even the nation is having trouble coping with the situation." He paused and then continued, "The reason why we decided to keep ORB neutral is simple. We want no quarrel with either the Natural or the Coordinators. However, without power, it's hard to keep that goal. And yet, if you do have power, it then in turn becomes a responsibility. I understand, however, that this is something that soldiers would not fully understand."

"I understand your sentiments, Mr. Uzumi," Murrue replied, "However, we're also doing our best to protect our own homes." Her thoughts drifted back to Admiral Halberton's warnings about ZAFT amassing its forces and heaved a sigh at this.

"Regardless of our viewpoints, I believe that I should tell you the real reason why we spared your ship," Uzumi suddenly said, "We wish to make…a deal with you."

"A…a deal?" Murrue blinked and Mu and Natarle glanced at each other, both equally surprised.

"We'd like for you to provide us with all of the data available on both the Strike and the X, as well as the Archangel," Uzumi replied, "Also, we'd also like to request that the Coordinator pilots Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri both lend their technical support to the Morgenroete Corporation."

"That…" Murrue stammered, "But that's…?"

"It would help us a great deal if you would accept our offer," Uzumi told them, "If you will approve, then we will gladly provide you with all of the necessary accommodations that you need."

"And what if we refuse?" Mu asked, deciding to test the water first before jumping in.

"Then I'm afraid that we will need you to leave at once," Uzumi replied, "If we cannot gain anything from this as well, then it will have been in vain."

"Mr. Uzumi, that's…!" Murrue exclaimed and stood up but Uzumi calmly got up from his chair and left for the door.

"I look forward to your cooperation," he said and the three senior officers could have sworn that they caught him smile a bit before he closed the door.

"So that's the 'Lion of ORB', Uzumi Nara Athha," Mu remarked as Murrue sighed and sat down, "He really is as tough as they say."

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"Hey! I can walk by myself, you know!"

"That's out of the question!" Upon hearing this, Kira and Flay quickly went over to the source of the voice, arm in arm. When they rounded the corner, they saw that a small crowd had already gathered in the hallway. Peering around the shoulders of the people in front of them, they were greeted with quite a surprise. Escorted by Myrna was Cagalli, now dressed in a dress similar to the one she had worn in Waltfield's mansion. This time, thought, the dress was green down to her thighs and then split into a lighter attachment. Her left shoulder strap was part of a white sash, the other end attached to her waist. Instead of being tied back, her hair had two ribbons keeping it away from the sides of her face. Three brass bracelets adorned her right wrist while a necklace set with a red gemstone hung around her neck. Now, she truly looked like the princess of ORB she claimed to be.

"Well, look at you," a voice said from behind them and they turned to see both Ryo and Tiffa standing there, the former with his arms crossed and an amused grin on his face, "All dressed up and ready to go, huh?"

"Shut up…" Cagalli grumbled, obviously not happy with the attire, "It's just for a little bit and then I'm taking this crap off the second I get home." Ryo shrugged and allowed an amused chuckle as she walked by, Tiffa and Kira also smiled as they watched her disappear around a corner. Flay, however, had a much different take on the situation.

"Who does she think she is?" she seethed, not bothering to hide her jealousy, "Dressing up like that…" Ryo just shook his head and rolled his eyes before walking off, used to this sort of thing.

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"I don't like this," Natarle said, "This country is dangerous, we don't know enough about it."

"We can't forget about the deal, though," Mu replied, "He'll make us leave if we don't accept."

"It's nothing but an empty threat!" Natarle frowned, "Why should we listen to him?"

"So what're you gonna do?" Mu asked with a grin, "Are you suggesting that we all abandon ship and swim all the way to Alaska?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Natarle replied, now becoming frustrated, "We do need to get as many repairs done as we can, but…"

"I was…gonna keep my mouth shut," Mu interrupted, "But don't you think that ORB's putting itself at a big risk by keeping us here? They're a small nation, so don't you think they'll do whatever they have to in order to stay neutral? From the way I see it, making a few unsavory deals is better than going to war."

"But can it be ended just like that?" Murrue asked, "Even if they haven't said anything, I know that they're being pressured by ZAFT to tell them where we are. However, they still choose to shelter us and it's the least that we can do."

"If you put it that way, then I suppose I have no authority over the situation, Captain," Natarle nodded in an understanding way, "However, I will be adding this to my report as well when we get to Alaska." Saying that, she snapped a quick salute and turned before walking out of the room.

"Sheesh, even in a case where we're being pampered," Mu remarked before turning to Murrue, "So, looks like we're gonna owe those two another one."

"Yeah," Murrue nodded before heaving a loud sigh and putting her face in her arms. Mu chuckled a bit and gave her an assuring pat on the back. "Give it up, Lieutenant Commander," Murrue mumbled, although she was secretly smiling, "That can be considered sexual harassment."

"Huh?" Mu blinked and withdrew his hand, staring at it, "Really?"

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Outside, a flock of birds was sitting peacefully in the branches of a large tree. All of a sudden, a disturbance in the ground caused the entire flock to take flight out of fear. The ground started to shake and two pairs of thunderous foot-falls began to become audible. A small car drove past the tree and moments later, two Mobile Suits turned the corner as well, following it. These two Mobile Suits were the deactive Strike and X Gundams and they were both being led to what looked like another cliff face. As the car approached it, however, the wall of stone began to split apart to reveal a huge door of reinforced steel. "Another one of these?" Ryo blinked inside the X, "Just how many secret doors are there on this island?"

"Dunno," Kira shrugged at the controls of the Strike, "This sure is an odd place." As the doors opened wider to allow the Strike and X to enter, something else was happening miles away at the coast line. A pair of fishermen was sitting on an outcrop of rock when suddenly, a gloved hand reached out from the water and grabbed onto the rock, pulling a figure in a diving suit out from the water. Three more divers followed as the first one pulled off his mask, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes and wisps of blue hair beneath the hood.

"Athrun Zala of the Creuset Team," he said, shaking hands with one of the fishermen as the other divers turned out to be the rest of the Zala Team; Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol.

"Welcome," the fisherman nodded, his vest slipping a bit to reveal a ZAFT insignia on his sleeve, "To the land of peace."

Phase 25: End

To the reviewers:

I apologize for a late update but I have been absolutely swamped. My teachers are piling projects on top of us and I'm going to be having finals in a fewweeks, so updates may come later than usual. Please understand that I'm doing my best to keep the story going.

- Hariel Lhikan


	27. Moment

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, I've had a minor case of writer's block. Well, once again, we come across another recap/clip episode. Therefore, this chapter will be a filler again. **The events in this chapter take place _during and_ _after_ Phase 27 and it is one of the more important chapters.** Just thought I'd let you know.

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Phase 26: Moment

_March 24, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory_

"These fake ID cards will take you up to Area 1 in the factories," the ZAFT spy explained to the Zala Team, which had discarded their diving gear and were now looking at false identification cards prepared for them, dressed as civilians, "However, the security check at the front is very thorough. Due to the sudden situation, they won't get you in everywhere."

"Understood," Athrun nodded, "Thank you."

"Please try not to raise a big ruckus," the spy told them as they left, "The lion should always be left asleep." The Zala Team nodded and departed for the woods nearby.

"Remember, guys," Athrun told them, "We're here to get information on the Legged Ship. Try to keep as low of a profile as you can."

"Whatever," Dearka replied, adjusting his cap.

"Nicol and I will try the military facilities," Athrun said as they came to a cliff overlooking the city, "Yzak, I'm counting on you and Dearka to handle the Morgenroete Corporation."

"You got it, boss," Yzak sneered and looked down at the city. Athrun sighed and also let his gaze wander as his memories drifted back to the night on the island. When he had returned from the experience, Nicol had asked him about while Yzak and Dearka, of course, didn't hesitate to rub the fact that they had to rescue him into his face. He too remembered Ryo's confession but had chosen not to tell Nicol for obvious reasons. True, Ryo had eventually remembered Nicol in the end but if the latter were to discover his secret, it would devastate him and Nicol was the kind of person who didn't take to this kind of thing very well. For now, he thought that it would be best if he kept Nicol in the dark about his friend. Having to fight Kira was already hard enough on Athrun. Fighting a second friend with a terrible past did nothing to help.

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The next day, the crew of the Archangel found themselves faced with something that they weren't very accustomed to: boredom. With the ship expecting repairs soon, there was very little to do since there were no enemies on their heels. Even the students had trouble keeping themselves busy when not on shift and it became very quiet after breakfast. Lunch time found them sitting in the cafeteria and trying not to fall asleep in their soup.

"So…" Ryo said at one point, poking at his bread with his fork while he propped his head up on his fist, "Anybody got any good jokes?" Silence followed as the others glanced at each other drearily.

"Nope…" Kira sighed and sipped his water nonchalantly before yawning.

"I've got one," Tolle said, trying to brighten up the situation, "What do you get when you cross a sheep with a bumble bee?" He paused and glanced around at everyone's bored faces before telling them, "Baah humbug!" The only response he got from that was that Ryo picked up his bread and threw it at him lazily, hitting him in the face.

"You fail, Tolle…" Sai grumbled as Miriallia sighed in exasperation at her boyfriend.

"It was worth a shot…." Tolle replied. There was more silence for another few minutes before Ryo finally pounded the table and stood up.

"God dammit, I can't take this anymore!" he shouted, "If something exciting doesn't happen in twenty seconds, my head's gonna implode on itself from boredom!" This earned him a few odd looks from the others before he sat down and started picking at the peas on his tray. It was at that moment that the door opened and Mu strolled into the room with his trademark smile on his face.

"Hey, guys," Mu said before glancing around at everyone and noticing the mood of the room, "What's with the long faces?"

"Isn't it obvious, Lieutenant Commander?" Ryo asked, flicking a pea with his finger and unwittingly hitting Kuzzey in the forehead with it, "We're all bored! All that we can do is eat, sleep, walk around aimlessly, or go on shift! And when we're not doing any of those things, all we can do is sit around and stare into space! There's absolutely nothing else to do!"

"Oh come on, kid," Mu chuckled, "It can't be that bad."

"If Kira's here eating with us instead of working on the Strike," Ryo said in response, gesturing to his fellow pilot, "Then I'd say it's pretty bad!"

"Hmm, you've got a point there," Mu nodded thoughtfully, "Tell you what, I'll go and see if I can get the Captain to give you something fun to do. You know, like a little break or something." At this, the mood of the students immediately improved and they looked at each other anxiously.

"You'd really do that?" Tolle asked excitedly.

"Sure," Mu shrugged, "To tell you the truth, I'd much rather be anywhere but stuck on this ship all day with nothing to do. Well, I'll come back later and tell you how it goes." Saying this, he left the cafeteria, leaving the students to talk to each other with renewed energy.

"I sure hope the Captain approves," Miriallia said with a smile, "I'm getting really tired of being here without anything happening."

"Yeah," Tolle nodded in agreement, "I can't really believe I'm saying, but I almost miss being chased by ZAFT now!"

"I hear ya'," Ryo laughed, "Maybe we can get some time off of the ship. It's been a while since the last time I've walked around the city." The others nodded in agreement and as they continued talking, Mu had reached Murrue's quarters; he knew that she was off duty at the moment and decided to use the opportunity to talk to her. Running his hand through his hair to smoothen it, he cleared his throat and knocked on the door.

"It's open," Murrue said from inside and the door hissed open to let Mu in. Looking up from her work, Murrue blinked in surprise, "Oh, Lieutenant Commander, I wasn't expecting you. Is there a problem?"

"Well, sort of," Mu replied, "You see, Captain, a lot of the crew is getting kind of bored with the lack of activity going on. I mean, even Kira's got nothing to do and that's saying something."

"I suppose," Murrue nodded with a smile.

"What I'm trying to say, Captain, is that if this keeps up, it could seriously hurt the moral of the crew," Mu told her, "So I was wondering if you could give everyone a little break. You know, give 'um the day off or something."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Murrue replied, shaking her head, "Even though I don't like having nothing to do either, I can't just let everyone off of the ship, even if it's for a day."

"Why not just let everyone who wants to go then?" Mu asked, "I'm sure that there'll be a few people staying behind to watch the ship. If you ask me, just leaving Badgiruel behind will be enough. She'll scare any intruder off easily."

"I don't know…"

"C'mon, Captain," Mu grinned, "It'll be fun! Besides, you know you want to go out for a bit too."

"Oh, alright," Murrue sighed in pretend defeat, "I suppose I could authorize it for today seeing as the repairs won't be started until later. I'll announce this later in the afternoon."

"Alrighty then," Mu smiled and turned to leave, "See you later, Captain!" As the door closed behind him, Murrue couldn't help but shake her head and smile to herself before returning to her work. Meanwhile, Mu had returned to the cafeteria, where the students were waiting anxiously for him.

"Well, what'd she say?" Ryo asked when he came in, "Are we good to go or not?" Mu paused for dramatic effect before his face broke out into a wide grin.

"Hope you still have your civilian clothes," Mu said, "We're goin' to town."

"Really?" Tolle asked excitedly as the others cheered, "How'd you convince her?"

"Hey, come on now," Mu smiled, "It's not like I was talking to Badgiruel or anything."

"Good thing, too," Ryo laughed, "She would've thrown you off the ship herself for even bringing it up!" The others got a good laugh out of this and even the normally shy Tiffa couldn't help but giggle with them.

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"Not much of a place, is it?" Dearka remarked as he looked around the dark motel room, "Tell me agains why we couldn't just go to a hotel?"

"Costs too much, we're on a budget, you know," Athrun replied, opening the blinds, "Besides, it's only for a few weeks. You'll get used to it in no time."

"Get used to it, huh?" Dearka replied and cocked an eyebrow skeptically, examining a layer of dust that was accumulated on the surface of the dining table, "This place doesn't look like it's been cleaned for years."

"Years? Try centuries," Yzak scowled as he lifted up the bed sheets only to find the mattress a light shade of red, "There're bed-bugs all over the place!"

"What should we do?" Nicol asked, "We've got to get some things if we're gonna stay here for a few weeks."

"Well, first things first," Yzak said, "This place needs to be cleaned up. No wonder it was so cheap to get in here; there's nothing in the icebox!" Athrun, being the more organized of the group, managed to find a tattered note pad that was missing most of its pages and a pencil with the eraser missing. Walking around the room, he examined what needed to be fixed and jotted it down the best he could.

"Alright, from the looks of this, we'll need a few things," Athrun told the others, looking at the list he had made, "Repellent for the bugs, food, new sheets and pillows, and some civilian clothes. It'd look kind of weird if we walked around looking the same every day."

"Well, isn't that just nice?" Dearka asked sarcastically, "That means that we each get to do one task."

"Exactly," Athrun nodded, "Yzak, you can handle the groceries. Nicol, you get the repellent while Dearka shops for clothes."

"Wait a minute, how come I'm stuck with the crappy job?" Dearka demanded, "Why can't I go food shopping?"

"Because, Dearka, the last time we let you do that," Athrun answered, "You spent more than the three of us put together for other things. Most of it on food that little kids live off of."

"Oh," Dearka grinned sheepishly, recalling the incident, "That's right…I forgot about that."

"Don't look at it as shopping, Dearka," Nicol said, trying to cheer him up, "Just think of it as…restocking on supplies."

"Besides," Yzak added with a smirk, "I hear that the ladies prefer guys who aren't afraid to be seen buying clothes for other people."

"Really?" Dearka asked, now interested, "I never thought of that…."

"Let's not give him any ideas, Yzak," Athrun warned, "We don't want to get in trouble here before we can get any information."

"Whatever, you losers can act as normal as you want," Yzak shrugged and headed for the door, "Well, guess I'd better go get that bug spray. We'll need it if we want to sleep inside tonight." When he had left, Nicol glanced at Athrun quizzically and Dearka just shook his head.

"How long do you think it'll take him to realize he forgot his wallet?" Dearka asked, nodding towards the leather pouch on the table.

"Any second now," Athrun replied and sure enough, muffled swearing could be heard as Yzak stormed into the room again, grabbed his wallet from the table, and stomped back outside, slamming the door loudly. "There we go," he sighed.

"Whatever," Dearka shrugged, "I just hope he doesn't realize that I swiped that…"

"DEARKA!" Yzak's voice raged outside, "WHY AM I MISSING TWENTY DOLLARS!"

"Damn," Dearka groaned, "Spoke too soon."

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"Be sure to be back before dark," Murrue reminded the students, now dressed in their civilian clothes, "And whatever you do, don't blow our cover. Even if ORB is a neutral country, that doesn't mean that there aren't ZAFT loyalists hiding here."

"Otherwise, just go on and have some fun for once," Mu, who was also in his civilian clothes, smiled before turning to Natarle, "You sure you're not coming, Badgiruel?"

"I'd rather not," Natarle replied, shaking her head, "Someone needs to stay here and make sure nothing happens."

"Suit yourself," Mu shrugged, "Okay, let's go, time's a-wasting." Later, after having been escorted out to the city by a few of the Morgenroete personnel, the students immediately went off in a group while the adults went off on their own.

"Okay, so where to first?" Ryo asked, "We've got about six or seven hours out here until we have to meet back at the bus stop."

"I say we stop by the mall," Miriallia said at once, "There's bound to be something there for you guys."

"Sounds good," Ryo nodded, much to everyone's surprise, "I need some more books. We can get some snacks to bring back to the ship too while we're there."

"I didn't know you were the shopping type," Tolle blinked as the group headed down the street.

"I'm not," Ryo told him, "It depends on what I'm looking for." Even as they talked, the students took the time to look around the city as they headed to the mall, taking a look at some new sights or catching up on old memories. It wasn't long before they reached their destination, a huge cream-colored building comparable in size to a fortress. But this was to be expected, since every mall in ORB was about the same size. It was a bit odd for them at first, going into one after being cooped up in a battleship for months on end, but the feeling soon passed after they split up, planning to meet up in the food court later. While the girls went off to shop for some clothes and whatnot, Ryo went to a bookshop while the others headed to the electronics store. Of course, Ryo only stayed for a little bit to check out the graphic arts section before he went to join the others.

"Anything good?" Kira asked, curious when he found them looking at some personal media players.

"I found some manga that looked good," Ryo said, looking into the bag he was carrying, "Good price too, didn't think I'd find stuff like this out here." Glancing around the store, he added, "Although, I guess I could use a music player…" In the end, he purchased a black 60GB Ipod, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to fill it up with much media, while Kira got himself a new flash drive.

"How the heck do you guys afford this stuff?" Tolle asked incredulously when they walked out, "I barely had enough for these earphones!"

"I guess it really does pay to have rank!" Ryo answered, laughing, "Maybe if you work hard enough, you might get promoted too!"

"Ssh, not so loud!" Kira warned, "We can't afford to blow our cover here!"

"Whatever," Ryo shrugged, "Let's go to the arcade, I feel like shooting something." With that, he led them up to the next floor to the mall's arcade. Sure enough, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a few quarters, going over to the first shooting simulator he could find. While the others watched, Ryo easily shot his way through the stage, shooting down all enemies. After the third stage, Kira joined in and it turned into a competition to see who could get the highest score. Ryo was in the lead because of his early start but by the last stage, Kira had almost caught up to him. By then, a small crowd had gathered to watch and the intensity was beginning to grow. "You're goin' down, Yamato," Ryo smirked as they neared the end.

"Wanna bet?" Kira asked, not looking away from the screen.

"Twenty bucks says I'll beat you."

"Done," Kira nodded with a grin and focused on the game again. Moments later, the two walked out of the arcade with neither being the loser; they had tied in the end.

"You just got lucky," Ryo scoffed, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Did not," Kira replied, "I'm just good at it, that's all."

"That coming from someone who's never used a gun before," Ryo said, "Cute, real cute." It was at that moment, however, that Ryo's life changed forever. Being busy talking to Kira, he didn't watch where he was going and walked right into someone. As he looked up to stammer a quick apology, his saw a pair of brown eyes looking back at him. The person in front of him looked about a year younger than himself, wearing an odd assortment of clothes and green hair. Something inside his mind was screaming at him that he knew the person. "But, who...?" Ryo thought to himself, "He looks familiar…like I know him from somewhere…."

"Um, Ryo?" he heard Tolle ask, "You in there?" As soon as he said that, the green-haired stranger blinked and a look of excitement came across his face.

"R-Ryo?" he asked, "Is it…is it really you?"

"Uh…" Ryo blinked, "Do I…know you?"

"Ryo, it's me!" the stranger said happily, "Nicol!" Ryo frowned as he pondered the name. Then, he remembered.

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"_There, you met the son of Maius City's representative Yuri Amalfi, Nicol Amalfi."_

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"Nicol!" Ryo laughed and pulled the green-haired Coordinator into a headlock and playfully ground his knuckles into his head, "You old dog, how long has it been?"

"A good few years, I think," Nicol smiled even in his position, "It's good to see you again, Ryo." As this was happening, the others were glancing back and forth at each other, obviously confused.

"Hey, um, Ryo?" Kira asked, "Who's this?"

"Him?" Ryo smiled, "This is Nicol, he's an old friend of mine from when I used to study in PLANT. Nicol, this is Kira, Tolle, Sai, and Kuzzey. I met them when I moved to Heliopolis."

"Oh yeah," Nicol nodded, "I heard about that incident…the colony was destroyed, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Tolle replied, "It was during a ZAFT invasion." Ryo noticed that a small look of guilt surfaced in Nicol's eyes after that comment but decided not to ask, knowing it was probably personal.

"So, Nicol," Ryo said, "What brings you down here to ORB? I thought for sure that you joined ZAFT after everything that's happened."

"Well, I did," Nicol replied, "I'm on leave and I thought I'd check out what a neutral country looked like." Ryo nodded and then turned to the others.

"You guys go on ahead," he told them, "I wanna catch up on old times with Nicol. I'll meet you guys later at the food court, okay?" The others nodded and while they walked off, Ryo and Nicol went off on their own.

"So, how's it been?" Nicol asked, "I haven't seen you since the accident."

"Well, I had to stay at home most of the time because of my amnesia," Ryo said, "I couldn't remember who was who, where was what, or even what time period I was living in. My parents had to remind me about a lot of stuff."

"I guess that means you forgot me too, huh?" Nicol sighed.

"Well, yeah," Ryo admitted sheepishly, "But it was only for a little while, my mom told me about you about a week after I woke up."

"How's the family?" Nicol asked and at this, Ryo turned to look at the floor and Nicol realized what he had said. "Oh, sorry," he stammered, "I forgot…you used to live on…"

"It's alright, it's all in the past now," Ryo said, waving it off, although he still looked a bit shaken, "I've gotten over it."

"Ryo…"

"So, what about you?" Ryo suddenly asked, "How's it going back on Maius City?"

"It was alright the last time I visited," Nicol said, "We don't get that much time off in ZAFT."

"Ah, that sucks."

"Hey, Ryo, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"After…well, you know," Nicol began, carefully choosing his words, "I was just wondering…who've you been living with?"

"No one," Ryo said, "I rented out an apartment. Pay the rent myself."

"You have a job?"

"Got one at Morgenroete," Ryo told him, thinking quickly, "I'm a janitor there. Not much, but the pay's pretty good."

"I see," Nicol nodded and in his mind, he saw this as a chance to get some information and sprang the question when they sat down on a bench, "Say, Ryo?"

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't happen to know if any new ships came into ORB recently, do you?"

"Can't say I do," Ryo lied, "Why? You on reconnaissance or something?"

"Sort of."

"I thought you said you were on leave."

"Haven't you ever heard of cover, Ryo?"

"Whatever. What are you looking for?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure."

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you've got to promise not to tell anyone. If any word of this gets out, I'm screwed."

"You have my word," Ryo smiled, "So, what's this big important secret of yours that has your life hanging in the balance?"

"We suspect that the Earth Forces is hiding one of their new battle ships here in ORB," Nicol said to him quietly, "The government's declared that the ship was chased away, but we're not really buying it."

"Does this happen to have anything to do with yesterday's skirmish off the coast?"

"Yeah," Nicol nodded, "Do you know if the ship's here or not?"

"Look, Nicol, as much as I want to help you, I don't have a clue," Ryo said, "Besides, even though I'm not too fond of the Earth Forces myself, I still have to abide by ORB's laws. That means that I can't give out any information that I know that may benefit another nation during war time."

"From the way you say that, it sounds like it is here."

"It might be, it might not," Ryo shrugged, "I'm just a janitor, no one ever tells me anything about who or what goes in or out the docks."

"So you don't know?"

"Nope."

"Well, I guess it was worth a try," Nicol sighed, "Thanks anyway, Ryo."

"Anytime," Ryo smiled and got up before adding, "Well, I think we've sat down long enough…let's walk around a bit, get some sight-seeing done." Nicol nodded and stood up before the two went off. Before long, however, Nicol spotted a music store and stopped to look into it. "Interested in music?" Ryo asked as they went in.

"Yeah, the piano," Nicol nodded as he gazed at a few booklets of sheet music, "It's always been my favorite hobby."

"Ah," Ryo nodded, "That's cool. How long have you been playing again?"

"Years," Nicol answered, "Before we even met, I think." Ryo nodded and quietly watched his friend browse through the shop before something occurred to him.

"Hey, Nicol," he said, frowning a bit, "Do you know a guy called Athrun Zala?"

"He's a good friend of mine," Nicol replied, looking up, "Why do you ask? Do you know him?"

"I used to," Ryo nodded, "My parents told me that we were friends as children."

"Really? That's awesome!" Nicol exclaimed, smiling, but then frowned a bit, "But then…he's never mentioned you…"

"Has he now?" Ryo blinked, "Well then, I guess I'll have to give that guy a piece of my mind the next time I see him…" Nicol laughed and as the two left the music shop, he thought to himself that he couldn't wait to tell Athrun about today when he got back. And that was when he remembered.

"Oh man!" Nicol exclaimed, "I totally forgot!"

"Say what?" Ryo asked, now confused by the outburst.

"I was supposed to be back at the motel fifteen minutes ago!" Nicol said frantically, "Darn it…the guys are gonna kill me…"

"Can I ask why you being back at the motel is so urgent?" Ryo blinked and Nicol reached into the bag that he was carrying before pulling out a can of insect repellent, "Ah, bed-bugs, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess you shouldn't keep your friends waiting," Ryo smiled, "Maybe we can meet up again some other time."

"I'd like that," Nicol nodded with a grin, "Well, I'd better get going. Those bed-bugs aren't gonna get rid of themselves."

"Doubt they will," Ryo laughed, "Nice seeing you again, Nicol." Nicol nodded and then hurried off while Ryo watched him disappear into the crowd. Just then, a nagging feeling came to his mind and he frowned as he tried to figure out what it was about. "Something's not right," he thought to himself, scratching his chin thoughtfully, "But what? Okay, so ZAFT's sent a reconnaissance team into ORB to try and get some info on the Archangel, but that's expected, isn't it? Besides, it's not like they can get into the shipyards without clearance or anything…" Ryo pondered this for a bit before he brushed the thought aside and turned, "It's probably nothing." He glanced down at his watch and was amazed at how much time had already passed and that it was about time for him to head over to the food court to meet with the others. As he walked through the crowd, he thought back to Nicol and tried to remember more about him. "I know we were friends when we were kids…" he sighed as he went down the escalator, "But everything else is so…fuzzy…" He heard a light giggling behind him and saw two old ladies looking at him from the corner of their eyes.

"Fuzzy…" one of them whispered to the other, although Ryo could hear them, "That boy said fuzzy…how cute…"

"Cute my foot…bitch…" Ryo grumbled under his breath, "I wonder if that how Flay's gonna turn out to be when she's all old and wrinkly…" He couldn't help but chuckle to himself a bit at the thought and felt somewhat better.

"Ryo!" he heard someone call out, "Ryo, over here!" Turning to where the voice was coming from, he saw Tolle waving at him from a table where he was sitting with the others. He waved back and then suppressed a laugh when he looked at the look of embarrassment on Miriallia's; probably because Tolle had just stood up and shouted from halfway across a crowded food court. By the time Ryo had reached the table, he saw that most of them were already eating.

"I guess you couldn't wait for me to get here, huh?" he remarked, glancing at the food on the table, "Gee, thanks a lot, guys."

"Sorry, Ryo," Sai replied a bit sheepishly, "But you were kind of taking a while."

"Yeah, what kept you?" Miriallia asked, a bit curious, "You didn't show up with the others."

"I ran into an old friend of mine from my childhood days," Ryo explained as he sat down, "Thought I'd catch up on the times with him for a bit." Accepting the reason, the group chatted for a bit until Kira brought up a point.

"Wait, Ryo," he said, "Didn't your friend say he was from ZAFT?"

"Yeah," Ryo nodded, "What about it?"

"Don't you think it's a bit strange?" Kira asked, "I mean, I don't know much about them, but I doubt that someone from ZAFT would come down to Earth on leave. Wouldn't it make more sense to just go to PLANT to see his family?"

"I asked him that," Ryo lied, "It was his parents' idea to come down here in the first place. They don't have a whole lot against Naturals, so they decided to come down here for a bit of vacation."

"It is kind of strange, though," Kuzzey pointed out.

"Look, will you guys just drop it already?" Ryo sighed, "Listen, I trust Nicol, he was a close friend when we were kids and he still is. If he says that he's on leave, that's good enough for me." There was a bit of silence at first until Ryo glanced down at his watch. "Crap!" he exclaimed, "It's getting late, the sun's going to go down soon. Grab your stuff and let's get out of here." After several minutes, most of which were spent dividing up the remainder of Flay's bags amongst everyone else, the group was ready to go and they quickly left the mall and headed for the bus stop. When they arrived, they saw that the other officers had already arrived and were waiting for the bus.

"There you are," Murrue smiled, "We were wondering where you got to."

"Looks like you guys bought a lot of stuff," Mu remarked but then squinted as he looked closer at the bags, "But…what were you guys all doing in Rosario?"

"It's all Flay's," Ryo grumbled, shooting a glance at the said red-head, "I wouldn't be caught dead in that shop…"

"Say, Lieutenant Commander," Tolle said, pointing at one of Mu's bags, "What's that you've got there?" Everyone looked and sure enough, something was poking out of the bag and before Mu could cover it, Ryo had already snatched it from the bag and was holding it out at arm's length.

"My, my, Lieutenant Commander," Ryo remarked smugly, looking up from the _Playboy_ magazine he had snagged, "A high ranking officer like you reading these things?"

"Give me that," Mu grumbled, snatching the magazine from Ryo's hand and stuffing it into the bag, "What I read is none of your business." Everyone else got a laugh out of this, until Kuzzey stopped to sniff the air.

"Say, what's that smell?" he asked, "It's…odd…"

"Yeah, it is," Ryo nodded when he smelled it too, "It smells like…Persian roses? Alright, who's got the bag with the leaking perfume bottle?"

"Actually, Ensign Mouri," Murrue said a bit shyly, "That would be me."

"Captain?" almost everyone asked, confused.

"Well, I was walking around and I noticed that the local spa was open and, well, I haven't been to one in years, so…"

"There was a spa here?" Flay asked, "Oh…I wish I could've gone…"

"Stop whining, you already bought more stuff than the rest of us put together," Ryo said irritably as the bus pulled up, "Come on, let's head back to the factory so we can dump this stuff off…"

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"Ahh…this is much better!" Dearka sighed contentedly as he lay back on his mattress, "Clean sheets and pillows, no bed-bugs, plenty of food in the icebox, and a full belly…I think I might actually start to like it here!"

"I guess it's not so bad," Yzak shrugged as he lounged on the couch in front of the TV, "It's no five-star hotel, but at least it's habitable now." After spending much of the afternoon doing some minor renovations, the Zala team had finally managed to successfully make their motel room a suitable dwelling to live in for the next few weeks. Yzak had secured enough food to last for a while and Nicol's insect repellent had effectively cleansed the place of all pests. Dearka had also managed to find clothes that fit everyone, although he had also picked up a few pairs of women's clothing for Athrun and Nicol as a joke, saying that they suited them. As for Athrun, he had gotten some comfortable sheets and pillows for them to use and they had managed to get the mattresses washed as well. They were now ready for their stay in ORB.

"Hey, um, guys?" Nicol said as he came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, "You might want to keep clear of the shower for a while until they do something about the plumbing here…" Everyone in the room looked past Nicol and saw that the shower head was dripping water that was disturbingly cloudy and when they looked closer, they could see a hint of brown in the water as well.

"Forget what I said," Dearka groaned and put his face into his pillow, "I hate this place…"

Phase 26: End

To the reviewers:

Warp Ligia Obscura- I'm not thinking of including the Astray characters in here, since I've never read the manga before.

Infinite Freedom- No, I'm not doing a Destiny fic. and you'll see why during future chapters. I may, however, write a sequel if I'm feeling up to it.


	28. Endless Rondo

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 27: Endless Rondo

_March 26, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory_

"The sixth workgroup will proceed to Deck 13 and start work from there."

"Engineering and armor repair class, please remain on standby at Booth 7."

"It's kind of surprising," Neumann remarked as he watched the workers from the bridge on the Archangel, "I never expected them to start repairs so soon."

"Yeah," Natarle nodded next to him, "It's something to be grateful for, but…" At that moment, the door to the bridge opened and Murrue walked in, feeling at ease today.

"Good morning," she said to the crew as she walked by.

"Good morning," Pal nodded from his seat.

"Good morning," Neumann and Natarle said simultaneously, both turning to salute the Captain.

"Good work," Murrue smiled, returning the salute, "How are the repairs coming?"

"The technicians have already arrived from Morgenroete," Natarle answered, dropping her hand as Murrue did the same, "They have already begun working on the ship."

"I see," Murrue nodded as she sat down, "What about Ensign Yamato and Mouri?"

"They both went off to the factory with the person who greeted us yesterday," Natarle said.

"Alright then, thank you," Murrue smiled and typed in a few commands on the monitor on her armrest before noticing that Natarle was giving her what looked like a glare. "Is something wrong, Lieutenant Badgiruel?"

"It's nothing," Natarle replied, shaking her head and the glare vanished, "I was simply thinking that now would probably be a good time to take a look at the ship's internal systems." With that, she snapped a quick salute and turned to leave.

"Thank you," Murrue said as she passed by and Natarle acknowledged her with a nod before stepping out of the door.

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At the same moment, Morgenroete senior engineer Erica Simmons was busy doing a bit of research. During the previous day, she had been visited by the pilots of the Archangel's Strike and X Gundams, Ensign Kira Yamato and Ensign Ryo Mouri. Although much of the initial meeting had been for explanations and introductions, Erica had also managed to extract much of both the Strike's and X's combat data. Now, during the present day, she was busy reviewing the data for possible use. For future use, she was recording the research using her own voice.

"As it has been reported up until now," she said into a headset that she was wearing, "It's a fact that these Mobile Suits possess far greater potential than initially assumed." She brought up a recording on the computer screen in front of her as she continued, "According to the report made by Colonel Ledonir Kisaka…" At that moment, she was interrupted by the ringing coming from the computer and she sighed a bit before muttering, "Pause recording. Communication channel online." The recording immediately paused as the communication feature of her headset activated, "Hello?" She paused to listen to the person on the other line and then laughed as she got up, glancing at a picture of her family hanging on the frame of the screen, "Yes, that's right, mom's still working." She listened a bit more and then said, "Well, I can't go home until Ryuta goes to bed, so why don't you have dinner with dad today?" As the person on the other line talked, she walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup. "Yes, I know," she said as she put the pot back, "The next time I get off from work, I'll make sure to never let this happen again." She laughed as she picked up the mug, "Come on, have I ever broken a promise to you?" Walking back, she smiled and said, "Okay then. Listen to your father…wash your face, brush your teeth, and go to bed. Yeah, okay, bye." As soon as she heard the connection cut off, she muttered, "Communication channel offline."

Heading back to the computer where she had been sitting, she sat back down and started typing. "Erica Simmons," she said, "Find file, index 2125, section delta. Resume recording." When the recording started again, she leaned back in her chair and continued where she had left off, "According to the report made by Ledonir Kisaka, the power possessed by the Earth Alliance's Mobile Suits are at an overwhelming level. It should be noted, however, that the second unit, the X, was in fact, constructed by the ZAFT forces." She paused to take a sip of coffee, "Regardless of model, the fact remains that both Mobile Suits themselves must rely on the skills of its pilot in order to bring out its full potential. Commence special file 0358 and 0359 of 722." The image on the screen changed to show a profile shot of Kira Yamato in his civilian clothing and a similar picture of Ryo Mouri on the side. The images then shifted to profile shots of the Strike and X Gundams side by side.

"Ensign Kira Yamato, pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike and Ensign Ryo Mouri, pilot of the ZGMF-X099 'X'," Erica continued, "Both possess a series of battle records that are prefect examples of this point." Erica then brought up a video that had been recorded by the Strike's combat computer. It was a clip of the Strike's first engagement against an enemy Mobile Suit, which was a Ginn. It started out at when Murrue was at the controls, during which the Strike had to rely on its agility and Phase Shift armor to defend itself from the Ginn. It also included an audio recording of Kira's argument with Murrue about the Strike's OS, which had been, at the time, useless for battle.

"It has been previously suggested by several staff members that there was a need to re-inspect the OS of the Strike, which had been modified at an incredible speed by Kira Yamato," Erica said, "Simply speaking, it's an undeniable fact that the abilities of Coordinators can far exceed those possessed by Naturals." She added as she watched the clip from when Kira had modified the OS and then taken the controls, "If the interface's performance is identical, it is a clear fact that Coordinators will be able to bring out even more potential from these machines." She watched as Kira completed the OS update, dodged the Ginn's assault rifle attack, drew the Strike's Armor Schneider knives (after complaining about how poorly armed the Strike was), and then disabled the Ginn by stabbing its shoulder and neck joints; all within a matter of minutes.

"If a Natural wishes to utilize a Mobile Suit up to par with a Coordinator's performance, they will require the appropriate software," Erica added, "However, there was only one such emergency situation and I can only express it as ironic, as we had no other choice but to leave that situation for a pair of Coordinators to handle." She went to another clip in which the activated Aegis retreated from the battlefield before the Strike had engaged the Ginn.

"In the beginning, the Naturals developed a weapon to fight against and repel the Coordinators," she said, "And yet, in the end, they were helped by the very abilities of the people they were fighting against. The same goes for ORB as well." The clip went to footage of the battle between the Earth Forces' 8th Mobility Fleet and ZAFT's Creuset Team.

"Command, hyperlink file 52," Erica said, "The contribution of the Coordinators to our country's military industries should be mentioned as well. The technicians of PLANT who sent the ZAFT's Mobile Suits out into battle for the first time believed that they would be the weapons that would lead fights and control the progress of the battles that they engaged in." The clip turned to an old recording of the first space battle between Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors, "They performed much more effectively than conventional fighters. These were machines that needed to be weapons that could rival the firepower of a battleship and at the same time, be agile while having armor stronger than that of a tank. In the end, that assumption became an established view." Getting up, Erica walked over to a second desk behind her, which was laden with three screens instead of one.

"However, the technicians had overlooked one crucial fact," Erica added as she worked on the middle keyboard, "It was that the Mobile Suits that they had created weren't limited to being effective only in space. Later, they would realize this and design even more variants, including terrain, atmospheric, and amphibious models." Reaching over to a second keyboard with her left hand, she began to work on that one as well.

"Command, temporary file 0629," Erica said, "The ZAFT forces' elite unit, the Creuset Team led by Commander Rau le Creuset, has persistently pursued the Earth Alliance's new warship, the New Model Mobile Assault Ship Archangel, ever since it escaped from the destruction of Heliopolis while carrying the Strike and X." She shifted to work on the center and right keyboards as she continued, "As a result, many Earth Alliance personnel and ships were destroyed, including the Eurasian Federation's space fortress Artemis, and the entire 8th Mobility Fleet. Despite the sacrifices, the Archangel failed to descend into their intended vector and was forced to descend into ZAFT territory on Earth."

"At the time, it seemed that the crew of the Archangel had internal conflicts within its chain of command," she added, "Most of these disputes were between acting Captain Lieutenant Commander Murrue Ramius and Head of CIC Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel." The clip turned to a recording on the bridge of the Archangel during its final battle against the Waltfield Team. During this particular segment, Murrue had denied Natarle's request to use the Archangel's Lohengrin cannons, arguing that the pollution would be too much for the environment to handle.

"While the Archangel succeeded in throwing off all pursuit in the end," Erica said, "It is widely believed that most of the efforts were made by the desperate fighting of the pilots of the Strike and X, Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri. I believe that the temperamental issues and hostility within the executive command of the ship need to be monitored closely. " The video went to a second recording from the Archangel's bridge, this time of when Murrue and Natarle were arguing whether or not to send out a search party to look for Cagalli and Ryo. It was shown in the video that Murrue was willing to put the well-being of the crew ahead of the regulations.

"Commander Andrew Waltfield," Erica said, turning to another file, "Known by his alias as 'The Desert Tiger', he is one of ZAFT's greatest commanders in terms of both piloting and tactical skills. While unaware of his presence, Waltfield's commanding squad attacked the Archangel using a terrain-warfare based model of Mobile Suit, the TMF/A-802 BuCUE." The video went to a recording from the Strike's combat computer which showed its encounter against the Mobile Suits, "Strike and X, which had been in their testing phases at the time, were not adapted for desert combat and had trouble against the enemy units. It was during this battle that Ryo Mouri showed his leadership skills to help Kira Yamato hold his ground." The clip showed as Kira struggled to keep the Strike upright in the continuously shifting sand while under attack from ZAFT combat helicopters. It then cut to when the BuCUEs appeared and Kira's brief but fruitless attempts to hit them. The Strike and X both to the air and both pilots began to modify the OS of their Mobile Suits again, "However, upon suggestion from Ryo Mouri, both he and Kira Yamato were able to confront the issue by recalibrating the control programs of the respective Mobile Suits during battle and eventually overcome the risks. As a result, the two were able to defeat any BuCUEs that they encountered and eventually overcame Waltfield's new personal unit, the TMF/A-803 LaGOWE."

The video showed the later encounters with the BuCUEs and then Kira's final duel against Waltfield, which ended with a climactic clash between the Strike, battery close to dead and armed with only an Armor Schneider knife, and the LaGOWE, missing one of its legs and its beam cannons severed from its back. In the end, it was the Strike that emerged victorious when it jammed the blade of its knife into the LaGOWE's already damaged back. "The Archangel then entered the Red Sea, expecting a swift journey to their destination in Alaska," Erica continued, "However, ZAFT knew of this and had cast a net into the waters and were waiting for the ship." Another clip from the Archangel's bridge showed their first sea-battle, in which they engaged a pair of Dinns and a two GOOhNs. "AMF-101 Dinn," she said, "UMF-4A GOOhN and UMF-5 ZnO. When confronted with these specially made Mobile Suits, the Archangel had responded with the Strike, X, and two support fighters, the FFX-550 Skygrasper." The clip shifted from the Strike's first battle against the GOOhNs to the combat computer of Mu's Skygrasper, in which he sunk the Morrassim Team's mother ship with the help of Cagalli and Ryo in their respective units. "With the support of the Skygraspers and their ability to transport spare Striker Packs out onto the battlefield, the Strike's usefulness on Earth took a considerable leap application and changed in terms of mobility." The clip shifted to Kira's encounter of Morrassim's personal ZnO, in which he also had a bit of a problem fighting against the new Mobile Suit.

"Command, find file 1350," Erica said, "A solution to the questionable application in space needs to be referenced." She watched as the Strike slowly adapted to the new conditions and eventually defeated the ZnO, "Either way, the synchronicity between Kira Yamato and the Strike resulted in another astounding performance even in unfavorable conditions. It can now be confirmed that the abilities of both Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri clearly and overwhelmingly exceed those of older, more experienced Coordinator pilots."

Erica then went to a new file and continued, "It should be noted that Ryo Mouri was amongst the first to volunteer to stay aboard the Archangel. Born to the late Junius City representative Oliver Mouri, he is possibly the only survivor of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy." Erica paused before resuming, "Although only in his mid-teens, his exploits as a Mobile Suit pilot and as a tactician both on and off the battlefield can be considered quite extraordinary." A second profile shot of both Ryo and Kira, now in uniform, appeared on the screen as she said, "Though reported to be older, Ryo Mouri also shows a stunning physical resemblance to Kira Yamato, which may lead to controversies about their biological histories."

"As it is an assumption, as well as the analysis of numerous experts, the issue that had sparked a controversy when it was announced at the institution. The supernatural phenomenon known as 'Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-factor' codenamed 'SEED' is to be considered. If possible, an accurate and concise investigation of both Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri…" At that, she paused for a moment and mulled over her words as she took a sip of coffee before adding, "Delete last item. Recording complete. Erica Simmons, create personal password, 1414072, on new file and save. Session complete." No sooner did she say that than the intercom installed in the door went off and she turned, "Come in." The door opened and a junior engineer walked into the room.

"Chief Simmons," he said, "We've brought Ensign Kira Yamato and Ensign Ryo Mouri back. They're on their way down as we speak."

"Thank you," Erica nodded, "I'll be right there." As she got up, she took off her headset and placed it on the desk before stepping out of the room. Meanwhile, the Strike and X were being lowered down a slope into the lower levels of the factory via platform. When the two reached the bottom floor, the security doors opened and inside the Strike, Kira looked around curiously before noticing a group of people on the floor in front of him. In the X, Ryo also noticed them and unbuckled his safety harness.

"Well, Kira," he said, opening his cockpit, "It's just like we did before." Kira nodded and climbed out of the Strike's cockpit and slid down the zip-line as Ryo did the same. Once on the ground, the two went forward to the group in front of them, which was led by a familiar young woman in a red Morgenroete jacket. As they did, Ryo briefly recalled his first visit to this strange place, as he had been here just yesterday.

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_Flashback_

"So, you must be the two pilots," the woman smiled, "Welcome to Morgenroete. I'm Erica Simmons, senior engineer and head of technology."

"I'm Ensign Kira Yamato," Kira nodded, "Nice to meet you."

"Ensign Ryo Mouri of the Archangel," Ryo said, "And don't you forget it!"

"Don't worry, I'm not one to forget things!" Erica laughed and then turned as the group around her separated to let them pass, "Come on, I'll show you around." With Erica leading them, Kira and Ryo walked through the vast hallways of the Morgenroete Factory, each room filled with sights they would have never imagined seeing in a neutral nation.

"This place…" Kira muttered, "How…?"

"This facility has enough manpower to repair both the Strike and X," Erica told them proudly, "In a way, it's like living in a mother's home." Kira and Ryo both nodded and laughed a bit as she smiled but as soon as she turned around, Ryo turned to Kira and nudged him in the ribs.

"Do you have any idea of what that's supposed to mean?" he whispered, glancing at Erica strangely.

"No idea," Kira shrugged as they stopped in front of what appeared to be the doorway to a hangar.

"I'm sure that you have a lot of questions," Erica told them, "But I'm sure that it will be easier to answer you when you've seen it."

"Seen it?"

"In here," Erica said to them, "This is what I wanted you two to see." The door hissed open and Erica led them inside. What the two pilots saw next would forever change their views on ORB. Because stored inside of the hangar was a small army of Mobile Suits, but completely unlike any that either of the two had seen before. It was built somewhat similarly to the Strike, except it was black and red and looked sleeker than the aforementioned Mobile Suit. Each one was armed with two beam sabers, a beam rifle, and a laminated shield, along with a pair of Igelstellung guns on the sides of its head. On its back was what looked like a small support pack for flying around in the atmosphere.

"Th-these are…" Kira gaped, looking around the hangar.

"ORB Mobile Suits…" Ryo finished quietly, gazing at the small army in awe.

"There's no reason for you two to act that surprised," Erica laughed, "After all, you both saw the Strike at Heliopolis, didn't you?"

"Now you see the true face of ORB," a voice said next to them and they all turned to see Cagalli in her civilian clothes standing there, "The so called 'neutral' nation." It didn't take long for Kira and Ryo to notice a glaring red mark on Cagalli's right cheek and the two couldn't help but stare for a bit.

"Cagalli…" Kira blinked.

"Geeze, did you get into another fight or something?" Ryo asked, "What the hell happened to your face?"

"This is the M1-Astray," Erica interrupted, drawing their attention back to the Mobile Suits, "Designed for ORB's military forces. It's a Morgenroete original."

"What does ORB plan on doing with these?" Kira asked a bit suspiciously.

"Plan?" Erica asked.

"They are to be ORB's protectors," Cagalli explained, walking up to them, "You know this too, don't you? ORB will not attack another nation, will not allow other nations to attack them, and will not intervene in the affairs of other nations." Turning to the two pilots with a look of determination on her face, she added, "These will give us the power that we need to fulfill that."

"Yes," Erica nodded, "I see that you understand our position here, Miss Cagalli…"

"No, I'm just saying that ORB used to be that kind of country," Cagalli frowned, "Until my father decided to betray it!"

"My goodness, are you still saying that?" Erica laughed, shaking her head in amusement, "I've already told you that's not the case. Lord Uzumi never knew of the development of the Earth Forces' Mobile Suits on Heliopolis…"

"Don't give me that!" Cagalli snapped, cutting her off, "Do you honestly think I'm gonna believe an excuse like that? If the highest ranking official in charge here doesn't know about the doings of his own country, then that's just a total load of crap!"

"Still," Erica said, "He did take responsibility for it, didn't he?"

"He only gave up the title of Chief Representative to his brother," Cagalli frowned, "He's still making all the calls from behind the scenes. Can you honestly believe that anything's change?"

"It can't be helped," Erica sighed, "Lord Uzumi is someone who's needed in ORB."

"Why would they need a coward like that?" Cagalli demanded.

"You know, Cagalli…" Ryo started but was immediately cut off.

"You stay out of this!"

"I dunno about you, but whenever I used to talk about my old man like that, I'd get in trouble like you wouldn't believe," Ryo continued, un-phased by the outburst, "I think you should be glad to have a dad who just gives you a quick slap to the face and then lets you go, much less a dad at all."

"He's right," Erica nodded, "You shouldn't be like this after all that your father has done for you. He doesn't have much to be happy for, you know." Cagalli sighed and looked down at her feet, fidgeting in her spot. "On top of that, you made quite the scene yesterday," Erica added, "I can't say much now, even if you were slapped." Kira blinked at this and looked at her, causing Cagalli to rub the red spot with the back of her hand. "Come on, leave the foolish lady here and follow me, please," Erica said to the two pilots, "The place that I need to take you to is just ahead." With that, she turned and walked further into the hangar, with Kira following behind. Ryo started to follow but then turned and saw Cagalli skulking behind them.

"Hey, are you gonna stand there and pout all day?" Ryo asked, "Come on already!"

"Alright, alright," Cagalli scowled, hurrying after them to catch up, "Give me a break, will ya'?" A few minutes later, Erica led the three into a smaller room, which reminded Ryo of a Combat Control Center. Technicians were sitting in front of computers inputting commands left to right but what really got their attention was the large window at the end of the room. The window overlooked an enormous training field with a floor made of rocks and dirt and standing inside the field were three Astray units, standing shoulder to shoulder. Erica led the three in front of the window and put on a headset while Cagalli put one on herself.

"Hey, how come you guys get headsets?" Ryo asked, pointing at Cagalli's.

"It's not like you need one," Cagalli replied, "These are for technicians only."

"Hey, I'm going to be helping out here in the future, you know," Ryo pointed out, "Besides, you're not a technician. Unless, you actually are and were hiding it this whole time…"

"Shut up."

"Alright, that's enough, you two," Erica smiled before directing her attention to the three Astray units in the field, "Asagi, Juri, Mayura!"

"Yeah," a trio of voices replied and Kira was visibly surprised when the voices turned out to be female.

"Hey, isn't that Miss Cagalli?"

"Huh? Hey, it is!"

"Back already?"

"Well, excuse me…" Cagalli scowled at the three Astray pilots.

"An all female Mobile Suit team, huh?" Ryo asked, visibly amused, "Just when I thought I'd seen it all…"

"Actually, these three are our test pilots," Erica explained to him, "They're among the best that we have."

"That's right!" one of them, Mayura, exclaimed over the speakers, "So you'd better watch yourself, kid!"

"Bark all you want, I should be telling you that," Ryo said calmly, "You know, even though ORB and the Earth Forces are two separate factions, I technically outrank you."

"Now, now, that's enough," Erica interrupted, stepping in before the argument got any worse, "You three, please start the test run."

"Yes ma'am!" the three Astray pilots chimed and the eyepieces of their Mobile Suits flashed green briefly before the lead unit, Asagi's, took a slow, lumbering step forward. The other two followed suit and Ryo was doing everything that he could to keep himself from laughing. The movements of the Astray units were greatly exaggerated and the speed that they moved at was just about as slow; they seemed to be stumbling all over the place as if drunk rather than walking. Then, the three units moved in separate directions before striking the most ridiculous-looking martial arts poses that Kira and Ryo had ever seen. By now, Ryo was having a silent fit of laughter and Kira was so stupefied by the performance that all he could do was stare stupidly at the three units for a while.

"So these are the top pilots of ORB, huh?" Ryo remarked when he had gotten his laughter under control.

"Ugh, it's still the same," Cagalli sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, they are moving twice as fast as they were before," Erica said thoughtfully and at this, Ryo lost all restraint and nearly fell over laughing while Kira gaped at Erica as if she had suddenly struck a pose similar to the ones that the Astray units were doing.

"T-twice as fast!" Ryo laughed, clutching his stomach as he stood back up, "No wonder you guys chose to remain neutral!"

"Yeah," Cagalli admitted, "Even if they're improving, these things would get destroyed before they can even lift up their weapons." They watched as Asagi's Astray suddenly lost its footing and stumbled a bit before she added, "They're completely useless! I can't believe you spent all this time just to build an oversized scrap heap!"

"Hey, that's mean!" Asagi complained from inside her unit.

"Now what?" Cagalli groaned as the other two Astray pilots joined the argument.

"Do you have any idea how hard we're trying to do this?" Mayura asked from hers.

"You think the enemy's gonna know? Or care?" Cagalli retorted, getting more fed up by the second and Kira began to slowly inch away from her.

"You don't even know how to pilot this thing!" Juri said from hers, which was balancing on one leg.

"Is that all you have to say? You want me to go in there and try?" Cagalli fumed and both Ryo and Kira could tell that she was just about ready to explode. Just then, she wheeled upon them and asked them, "I can do it just fine! Right guys? You've seen me fight before! I can handle one of those easily!"

"Um…" Kira gulped, trying desperately to think of an answer that would satisfy the Astray pilots and at the same time, keep Cagalli from throwing him through the viewing window, "Well…I, uh…"

"I'm sure you could, Cagalli," Ryo said, patting her on the shoulder, "But it'll take a lot of practice on your part. Either that or a really descriptive tutorial."

"Alright, alright, alright! Everyone stop arguing!" Erica finally ordered and everyone fell silent before she sighed and added in a more calm tone, "However, what Miss Cagalli is saying is true. These machines…they really won't be anything more than toys until the Operating System can catch up with the technology it uses."

"Oh, come on, don't be so hard on yourself! You did a great job with them!" Ryo said, trying to shed some light on the situation, "I mean, they look cool enough! And I guess you could always just use them to put on a tai-chi show or something like that…" At this, the Astray pilots' arguments were immediately redirected towards him and he couldn't help but wince a bit as their combine voices made quite a ruckus in the room.

"Ladies, please!" Erica sighed and then turned to Ryo, "I appreciate the comment, but the situation is more serious than you think. If we're going to be able to defend ORB, we need these machines to be able to perform up to par with the Strike and X, even when piloted by a Natural."

"I see," Kira nodded, "That's why you needed our help, isn't it?"

"That's right," Erica nodded, "We would greatly appreciate your cooperation, since you two have some experience in this area."

"Anything in particular that you need done?" Ryo asked.

"We would like you to help develop a support OS for the M1 Astray," Erica explained, "So that it's user-friendly even with Naturals."

"I suppose we could," Ryo said after contemplating this for a bit, "But…I'm gonna need to test a few things out, first…"

_End flashback_

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"Am I good to go?" Ryo asked, glancing at the left view-screen. The previous day, he had told Erica that he would need to test out some of the systems first in order to get the proper calculations. He figured that the easiest way to do that would be to just jump into one of the machines and see for himself. Now, he was sitting inside the cockpit of one of the Astray units and he found it to be not much different from the interior of the Strike's cockpit, which he had seen on a few occasions.

"Hold on a minute," Erica replied over the speakers, "We're still getting some calibrations done."

"Alright then," Ryo nodded and looked over the things that he had brought into the cockpit. A stopwatch and a notepad with a pen was all that he figured he would need and so far, he didn't see anything mission.

"Okay, we're ready," Erica told him, "Go ahead."

"Alright, I'm starting it up!" Ryo nodded and pushed a lever forward, activating the main battery. Holding up the stop watch with one hand, he pushed another lever forward and started the watch at the same time. He watched from the center view screen as the Astray unit slowly raised its right arm and he waited until it was pointing straight up before stopping the watch. "Six point eight seconds," he muttered, jotting it down on to the notepad as he lowered the arm. He ran several more tests, most of them involving how fast the unit could move individual parts of its body in certain directions. He then had it walk around a bit, testing out different speeds and then gradually came to a stop.

"How's it going in there?" Erica asked.

"Well, I can really see why you need a new O.S. for these things," Ryo remarked as he jotted down some last measurements, "A sloth could probably outmaneuver this thing!"

"You're telling me," Cagalli grumbled next to Erica.

"Well, I'm gonna tweak the O.S. a bit to better suit my conditions," Ryo told them, bringing down the keyboard, "Kira and I will reset it later after we've made the new one." After typing in a few commands, he folded the keyboard back up and did the same tests again. This time, the machine moved much faster and smoother as well, which pleased Ryo before he reset the O.S. and later, when he was back in the viewing room, he held up the notepad and said, "Well, I've got the basic calculations for the new O.S. It shouldn't take Kira and I too long to get it done, we'll just need to finalize these and then start working."

"I dunno," Kira frowned, taking the notepad, "These look a little abstract."

"Hey, can I help it if it's hard to write stuff down while in a Mobile Suit cockpit?" Ryo asked a bit crossly before adding, "Besides, it's just a computer program. How hard could it be?" Little did he know, Ryo was going to be spending the next two days figuring that out.

Phase 27: End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- I'm afraid I can't disclose any information regarding why I'm not doing a Destiny fic. because doing so will leak major spoilers for this one, especially for the later parts.


	29. Kira

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 28: Kira

_March 28, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory_

The Onogoro Island's city was once again enjoying a peaceful day. The sun was out, people were walking around shopping or just being together with friends. In fact, it was a wonder that no one gave a second glance to two young men walking around in blue Morgenroete outfits. "The city sure is a peaceful place," Nicol remarked, looking up from the map he was holding, "It's kind of odd, really."

"Yeah," Athrun agreed with a nod, "Especially if you consider the uproar that took place in their territorial waters only yesterday."

"Do you think it's because they're neutral?" Nicol asked. The two watched a group of kids playing some kind of shooting game at the local arcade and then two mothers and their children, as well as a man discussing business with a shopkeeper.

"A real land of peace, huh?" Athrun remarked as the two made their way through the streets. Later, the two met Dearka and Yzak in the park, with the former and Nicol sitting down on a bench.

"You guys find anything?" Nicol asked them a few minutes later.

"Nothing," Dearka sighed, leaning against the bench, "Their ports are hidden too well."

"I don't get it," Yzak frowned, shaking his head, "How in the world can these guys hide a battleship that big so easily?"

"Maybe it really isn't here after all," Dearka said, glancing at Athrun and then Nicol, "What do we do now?"

"If it's here, it's here. If it's not, then we leave," Athrun replied, "Either way, I want proof of either. We'll have to search the interior of the place."

"How are we gonna do that? Not even an ant could sneak into there," Yzak said, looking out at an Aegis ship floating in the distance, "In the city, you're free to go where ever you want, but the security in the Morgenroete and military facilities are insanely high."

"Yeah," Nicol nodded, "It looks peaceful on the outside, but I wonder what they're doing on the inside…" He glanced down again at the map he was holding and added, "What a puzzling nation."

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Meanwhile, inside one of Onogoro Island's naval ports, the Archangel's repairs were still being done. Today, crates of supplies were also being loaded into the cargo bay, the process being watched over by Murdoch. As a small truck drove by carrying tanks of water, he scribbled something down onto a clipboard and handed it to a Morgenroete engineer before placing the pen into his shirt pocket. At the same time in the hangar, Mu was watching the technicians make repairs to both Skygraspers. It was in the hallways, however, that the more important news was being spread.

"What? Our families?" Sai asked and the others looked at each other expectantly. Currently, they had all gathered in one of the hallways except for Kira and Ryo, who were off somewhere else. Murrue had gathered them there to inform them of their families, who had all made it safely to Earth.

"Yes," Murrue nodded with a slight smile, "Due to the current situation, I'm afraid that we can't allow any of you to go home, even if it's for a short time. However, I've contacted headquarters and they've allowed us to arrange for anyone with family here to meet with them after three in the afternoon tomorrow." At this, everyone let out a joyous cry and turned to each other in excitement.

"Wow!" Sai exclaimed, "That's great!"

"Are you serious?" Kuzzey asked, almost too thrilled to believe it.

"What should I do?" Miriallia asked, close to tearing from joy.

"What should you do?" Tolle asked, "It doesn't matter! Don't cry now…"

"I can't help it…"

"I can't believe I get to see my dad!"

"Isn't it amazing, Sai?"

"I'll go over the details tomorrow with the rest of the crew," Murrue said but in their excitement, they barely heard her, "Hey, are you all listening?" Tiffa smiled as she watched her friends talk happily about meeting their parents but then saw Flay walking off and sighed a bit. She knew that Flay didn't have anyone to meet her and that it was probably hard to watch the others be excited about it. In a way, she was a bit sad that she had no family here too, but she felt happy for her friends, and to her, that was all that mattered.

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At the ORB's Ministry of National Defense headquarters, Uzumi Nara Athha sat in his office with several records splayed out across the surface of his polished desk. The two that he was looking at now were the personal records of both Kira and Ryo, both of whom he was quite interested in. "Kira Yamato…and Ryo Mouri…" he muttered, looking at the records, "I thought that this would be it when I heard their names, but…could these two…really be…?" Meanwhile, deep within the Morgenroete facilities, technicians were scurrying about working on the repairs of the Strike and X, which were lying down on their backs to make things easier. Cagalli was also there and was currently looking down off of a platform into the Strike's open cockpit, where one of the technicians was working on the Strike's computer.

"Whoa, you type really fast!" Cagalli remarked, noticing how quickly the technician's hands moved across the keys, "How long have you been working with this kind of stuff?" The technician inside looked up at her and Cagalli felt a nudge of foolishness when she saw that it was actually Kira wearing a Morgenroete uniform. "Oh, it's just you, Kira," she said, blushing a bit out of embarrassment, "I was wondering who was in the Strike."

"Oh, well, Ms. Simmons told Ryo and I that it would be best if we didn't walk around in our Earth Forces uniforms in here," Kira explained, turning back to his work before glancing back up, "You know, you're one strange princess, coming down to a place like this and all."

"Well, excuse me," Cagalli scoffed, "Don't go calling me a princess if you don't think so yourself. I really hate it when people do that, you know."

"Sorry," Kira smiled apologetically, "But you know, I think I understand now. Why you were at the Morgenroete factory back on Heliopolis, I mean."

"Yeah, well," Cagalli sighed, "After I heard a rumor that Morgenroete was helping the Earth Forces build Mobile Suits at Heliopolis, I went to see for myself, since my father wouldn't tell me anything no matter how many times I asked him."

"I see," Kira nodded and thought back to when Cagalli had declared her father a traitor back on Heliopolis, "But…aren't they saying that he didn't know about it? Your father…I mean, Representative Athha."

"That's just what the guys who are inside the whole issue are saying," Cagalli told him as he fiddled around with the controls, "It's not like he's denied the whole thing either." At this, Kira looked up at her in surprise as she added, "Well, it's not like things like that would matter a whole lot anyway, it's just that he's the one that has to handle all of the responsibilities when this kind of stuff happens. It's just stuff like that. I believe in my father and all, but…it's just hard sometimes."

"Cagalli…" Kira muttered but then heard a pair of technicians talking nearby.

"The abrasion on the electrical sockets is pretty bad," one of them said, "Heck, most of it's like that. What in the world are they doing with these things?"

"If these things were alive, they'd probably be screaming," the other remarked, "If they keep on pushing them to the limit like this."

"You know, I heard that…" Cagalli started when Kira started to climb out of the cockpit but then trailed off when he looked away.

"In the end…there were too many things…too many people that I couldn't protect," he sighed, turning to climb off of the Strike, "Sometimes, I wonder if even pushing to the limit is enough."

"Hey, Kira!" someone said behind them and they turned to see Ryo climbing out of the X's cockpit to join them, "Done already?"

"Not yet," Kira replied, shaking his head, "I'm just taking a break for now. I should almost be done."

"Nice," Ryo nodded, "Come on, let's go grab a drink. You wanna go too, Cagalli?"

"Sure," Cagalli smiled and climbed down from the platform before walking off with them to one of the observation decks.

"So, that's why you joined the Resistance?" Kira asked later when they were in the observation deck as he pressed a button on the vending machine, "Just because you got mad and then ran away from home?"

"My father told me that I didn't know anything about the world," Cagalli explained as Kira handed her the drink, "So I went to find out for myself."

"That's it?" Ryo asked as Kira got a drink for himself and then took a sip of his own, "That doesn't sound like that big of a deal."

"Out in the desert, everyone was fighting for what they believed in with everything that they had, even if it was just an ocean of sand," Cagalli said, "They still fought desperately to protect it, 'cause it was their home…" She turned and walked over to the window that overlooked the hangar, "And then I think of ORB. Even with all this power and everything that we can do, we still wanna be best pals with both the PLANTs and the Earth Forces." She added as she turned to face them, "They think that just because our country's at peace, the rest of the world doesn't even matter! And at the same time, we keep profiting from the war! Don't you guys think that's sleazy?"

"Do you really think going to war is something to be proud of?" Ryo asked her as he went over to her with Kira, "I honestly don't see what's so great about it."

"I never said that I wanted ORB to go to war!" Cagalli argued, "I just want to end it!"

"But, Cagalli, you have to understand," Kira said, "The war's not gonna end if you just jump in and start fighting. It's not like that."

"Besides, who would you side with?" Ryo pointed out, "You can't just go and fight everyone and expect to win. There's no such thing as a one-man-army. Or, I guess, in your case, a one-woman-army."

"Ugh, fine, I get the point," Cagalli finally scowled, seeing that she couldn't win the argument, "No need to get all philosophical on me."

"Aw, come on, where's the fun in that?" Ryo smiled, "You look funny when you're confused!"

"Why you…!" Cagalli fumed and in her anger, crushed the empty cup in her hand.

"Eh heh," Ryo grinned sheepishly and back away a bit, "Ah crap…" A moment later, the technicians down below were greeted by the sight of Ryo being chased by a very pissed Cagalli, who was intent on strangling the pilot.

"Another day at the office," one of them remarked to the other and the other nodded in agreement before both of them turned back to their task.

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Later the next day, at the ORB government building, Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey had all gone to see the parents for the afternoon. When they got there, they were all talking to each other excitedly until the door opened.

"Kuzzey!"

"Tolle!" At this, the attention of the teens was diverted into the room and large smiles lit up their faces when they saw their parents getting up from their seats. The four immediately rushed to their respective families.

"Mom!" Kuzzey called out, pulling his mother into a tight hug.

"Oh, Kuzzey!" she replied tearfully while his father watched on.

"Tolle, I was so worried!" Tolle's mother sobbed, breaking into joyful tears at the sight of her son as his father put a proud hand on his shoulder.

"Milly!" Miriallia's mother beamed as she hugged her daughter.

"You're alright after all!" her father added and Miriallia nodded to him, her smile still there.

"Sai!" Sai's mother exclaimed happily, holding his face in her hands, "I'm so glad…"

"It's been hard for you, hasn't it?" his father asked when she moved back.

"Yeah," Sai admitted, "But I'm glad that I got to come see you guys." He looked around the room, smiling as he watched the others greet their own families happily. Not everyone, however, was having a happy meeting today. Back on the Archangel, Flay and Tiffa were busy restocking one of the washrooms. After placing a few bottles of shampoo into the cabinet, Flay put a few folded towels that Tiffa handed to her onto a rack.

"Flay?" the younger girl asked a bit timidly, "Are you…are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Flay said blandly, "Come on, we still have to do the next room." Tiffa nodded before the two silently pushed the cart out of the room. At the same time, Kira was sitting in front of a computer with Ryo standing behind him. The two were working on the new O.S. for the M1 Astray units that they had seen a few days ago and they were close to being finished. Kira was sitting down typing while Ryo stood beside him and constantly pointed things out to him.

"No, no, the hydraulics pump connects to the shock motor, _then_ to the stabilizer cables!" Ryo exclaimed, putting his hand over his face, "Not both at the same time!"

"Hey, you want to try doing this?" Kira asked, a bit annoyed, "It's not as easy as it looks, you know."

"Well, I would if you didn't keep insisting to do most of the work!" Ryo retorted before looking at the screen again, "Whoa, what are you doing? Don't raise the pressure that high!" As all of this was happening, a couple was waiting at the ORB Ministry of National Defense headquarters. After having been in the waiting room for a while, the door opened and Uzumi walked into the room. At first, he was a bit surprised but then recognition dawned on him and he nodded to them respectfully when they stood up.

"You would be the Yamato family, I presume?" he asked. The two nodded, confirming that they were indeed Kira's parents.

"Lord Uzumi," the mother, Caridad Yamato, said a bit worriedly, "I believe that you promised us last time that we would never have to meet with you again."

"Call it a twist of fate," Uzumi sighed, "I'm sorry to say that the children have indeed met again, so I'm afraid that I can't be helped." Caridad glanced at her husband Haruma, who put an assuring arm around her shoulders while Uzumi sighed gravely. Later, back on the Archangel, Flay was stalking the hallways, looking for something or someone. Tiffa was off somewhere else but none of that mattered to her at the moment, being completely focused on her search. She first glanced into the cafeteria and then later the room that the others shared, neither hiding what she was looking for. Sighing, she continued on and then stopped into Kira's room.

"Hello," a voice said from behind, startling her, "Do you need something?" She turned and saw to her surprise Kira and Ryo by a computer in the side room, both in Morgenroete uniforms.

"Kira…" she muttered as the said brunette turned back around before Birdee jumped from its perch on the back of his chair onto his head.

"Hey, cut that out, Birdee!" Kira laughed while Ryo watched in amusement.

"Why are you…?" Flay started to ask as the two looked back at her.

"Oh, right, sorry," Kira smiled before he looked back at the screen, "We're almost done here, so can you wait for a bit? Or do you want to go on to the cafeteria first?"

"Why aren't you going?" Flay asked, frowning a bit.

"Huh?" Kira blinked, not looking at her nor detecting the slight steel in her voice.

"Kira, isn't your family here too?" Flay asked, "Why aren't you going to see them?" At this, Kira stopped typing and Ryo couldn't help but give Flay a slight glare. All of them knew that the others besides Tiffa had gone off to see their parents and were no doubts catching up on lost time or telling them of their adventures.

"Look, Flay, this looks like it's going to take another while," Kira said, trying to change the subject, "If Ryo and I don't finish this now, then the Archangel…"

"Liar!" Flay snapped and stormed over to them before slamming her hand onto the table, "Do you take me for an idiot? Are you feeling bad for me? You pity me, is that it?"

"Flay…" Kira blinked, not understanding at all but Ryo immediately knew what was going on. Flay had mistaken Kira's friendliness for pity and was taking it the wrong way.

"You're feeling sorry for me, aren't you?" Flay snarled, "Just because I don't have any family that's coming to see me!"

"F-Flay!" Kira stammered, standing up, "That's not it…" He tried to put a hand on her arm but she stepped back and slapped the offered hand away.

"Don't make me laugh!" Flay snapped, "Who do you think you are? I don't need your pity! You're the one who's pitiful!"

"Flay…" Ryo glared but the red-head ignored it as she continued her rant.

"Fighting by yourself, acting all scared!" she said, "Poor Kira…poor, lonely Kira. You cry every time you kill someone, you cry every time you can't protect someone! You're always freakin' crying!" At that, her demeanor broke and she fell into his chest, beating it with her fists and crying. "So…so what right do you have…?" she choked, "What right do you have to feel sorry for me?" Kira grimaced a bit as painful memories resurfaced; of the shuttle and the little girl with the origami flowers. And then he realized that after that, after he had begun his relationship with Flay, everything seemed to have spiraled out of control.

"Flay…" he sighed, his mind made up, "Flay, stop…let's put an end to this…this whole thing was just a big mistake…" His words had a different effect on both of the other two people in the room. For Ryo, he couldn't help but break into a smile and nod approvingly at his decision, glad that he was finally thinking sensibly now. For Flay, however, the shock was so great that it took her a few seconds to register what he had said into her mind.

"What…did you say…?" she asked through gritted teeth as she looked back up at him, tears streaming down her face, "What? What does that mean?" Without waiting for an answer, she gave Kira a spiteful shove and rushed out of the door, leaving the two pilots inside as she raced down the hallway, her tears and shock clouding her vision as she ran blindly towards her room. Kira, on the other hand, put his face into his palm and heaved a sigh, feeling empty and yet strangely rejuvenated, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his chest.

"I'm proud of you, Kira," Ryo said, surprising him as he gave him a pat on the back, "You stood up and took charge without looking back…that's how a man thinks…" Giving him a smile and another nod, he led him out of the room saying, "Welcome to the real world, Kira Yamato."

"Yeah," Kira nodded, smiling a bit himself, "I guess it's not just fun and games anymore, huh?" Hours passed and all too soon, it was time for the students to say good-bye to their parents and head back for the ship.

"Oh, I can't believe that it's already time to leave," Tolle's mother sighed, "The afternoon went by so quickly."

"I know," Tolle nodded a bit sadly, "But I guess it can't be helped…"

"How much longer does the ship plan on staying?" Kuzzey's father asked his son.

"I'm not too sure yet," Kuzzey sighed, looking a bit guilty.

"Oh, why do you have to leave?" Miriallia's mother sighed, looking close to tears again, "Couldn't you stay here?"

"I don't have a choice," Miriallia told her, shaking her head, "I'm a formally enlisted crew member…I can't leave…"

"I won't stop you, as this was something you did out of your own choice," Sai's father said to him, "But I want you to know that even though I don't agree with it, I'm proud of you, son. Please be careful out there."

"Thanks, dad," Sai nodded, "I will." Even as the families shared their last tearful good-byes, the Yamatos were still in conference with Uzumi.

"No matter how long it's been, I will never tell my son the truth," Caridad said firmly.

"You will tell him nothing?" Uzumi asked with a sigh, "Not even that fact that he has siblings?"

"I know that this is being unfair," Haruma told him, "But Caridad and I feel that this is the best for Kira…"

"Like you promised us last time," Caridad sighed, "We will never have another meeting like this, will we?"

"I understand your concerns, and I respect them," Uzumi nodded, "However, the times are becoming increasingly complicated. Eventually, it will be a problem hiding the truth from him. In reality, they met each other without knowing a single bit of their real history."

"Why don't we stop making this situation worse?" Haruma advised, "If we keep this up, they'll eventually realize that something's amiss."

"That may be," Uzumi smiled, "However…are you sure it's alright that he didn't come to see you today?"

"Yes, if he doesn't want to…" Caridad sighed, "Perhaps…we would be better off not seeing him as well anyway…"

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That evening, inside the Morgenroete factory's testing room, a lone M1 Astray, piloted by Asagi, stood in the middle of the testing field. In a fluid rush of movement, the Astray unit assumed a fighting stance and threw two quick punches before crouching and dashing across the field. Just as it was about to reach the observation window, Asagi gunned its thrusters and it flew into the air, back-flipping before landing perfectly on the other side. "Whoa!" Asagi gasped as everyone in the observation deck watched in stunned silence, "Amazing!"

"We've developed a new quantum subroutine," Kira told her as he worked on one of the computers, "And raised the synaptic replacement rate by forty percent. The structure of the ion pump has also been changed to better suit the reaction time of normal Naturals."

"In a nutshell, that should let you guys hold your own against even other Mobile Suits," Ryo explained, looking up from behind Kira, "Now you don't have to worry about a lagging reaction time."

"You two wrote an entire O.S. in such a short amount of time…" Erica nodded, "I'm really impressed."

"Say, what about if I tried out this thing?" Mu asked, dressed in a Morgenroete uniform like Kira and Ryo after having accompanied them, "Would I be able to do this much too?"

"Yes, that's right, Lieutenant Commander," Erica smiled, "You wanna give it a try?" Mu was about to respond when Kira suddenly heaved a sigh and this caught his attention. "Asagi!" Erica called out, not noticing, "You can come out now!"

"Alright!" Asagi replied and soon, she was back on the ground again.

"Well, we'll head on over to our own Mobile Suits," Kira said when they had all left the observation deck.

"Okay," Erica nodded, "See you two later, then." Kira nodded and turned before walking off.

"Later," Ryo smiled and started off after Kira as the Astray test-pilots moved away talking excitedly. When all of them were out of hearing range, Mu turned back to the boys and went after them.

"Hey! Kira!" he called out and the two pilots stopped when he heard him, "What's with the depressed look?"

"Who's depressed?" Kira asked innocently before walking off, Ryo close behind.

"Are you still talking like that?" Mu sighed as he followed them, "I heard that you even turned down the chance to visit your parents today. What's up with that?" Kira was silent and Ryo gave him a glance as Mu pressed on, "Come on, Kira."

"Even if I did want to see them," Kira said as he made his way over to the Strike, "I wouldn't have had time…I'm a soldier now…" Mu slowed down a bit as Kira and Ryo approached Murdoch, who was also in a Morgenroete uniform.

"Hey, kid!" Murdoch called out when they were close enough, "I increased the Strike's thruster output another eighteen percent, so I'll need you to double check the limit point to make sure it's right."

"Okay," Kira nodded and climbed up into the Strike's cockpit.

"What about the X?" Ryo asked the head technician, "You guys do anything to it while I was gone?"

"Nah, it's s still the way you left it," Murdoch replied, "But if you want, I could always go over it again."

"No, that's alright," Ryo smiled, "Maybe some other time…don't want the head tech. working too hard, do we?"

"Heh, guess not!" Murdoch laughed, "You're a good kid, Ryo, I'll give ya' that…" Meanwhile, Kira had started up the Strike's O.S. and was busy checking on the improved data while Mu watched from the open hatch.

"Look, Kira," Mu said to him, "Even if you are a soldier, you're still you! Your parents probably wanted to see you after all this time…"

"I just want to do stuff like this," Kira replied blandly, "Fight in a Mobile Suit…help with development and controls…because I can do it."

"Kira…"

"We'll probably run into ZAFT the moment we leave ORB's territorial waters," Kira added, remembering their most recent fight just outside of ORB.

"Yeah, but that's…"

"Hey, kid! One more thing!" Murdoch called out from below, "We've worked on the shielding a bit too. You'll have to wait a few minutes before trying it because of the proton spattering on the barrels. We're gonna conduct a shakedown later too, so be ready for that."

"Alright," Kira nodded and Mu sighed from where he was standing before Kira suddenly added, "If I saw them now, I'm afraid that I'll say something to them that I'll regret later on before I even know what I'm saying."

"Say something?" Mu asked, cocking an eyebrow, "Like what?" At this, Kira stopped typing for a moment and Mu realized that this was a troubling matter.

"Why…" Kira said, "Did they make me a Coordinator?" As Mu looked on in surprise, Kira added, "If they didn't make me one…then I would never have had to even deal with Mobile Suits…and I wouldn't have to do any of this…"

"Kira…"

"Hey, hey!" someone called out and they looked to see Ryo coming over, "Why's everyone looking so down today? What's gotten into you, Lieutenant Commander?"

"Kira's bad mood rubbed off on me," Mu said jokingly.

"Ah, that," Ryo nodded and looked into the cockpit before whispering to Mu, "Look, don't be so hard on him, alright? He's been having some problems lately, you know?"

"Problems?" Mu asked, confused, "Like what?"

"Well," Ryo said with a slight smile, "Let's just say that Kira's a bachelor again, shall we?" Mu was just nodding his understanding, having being enlightened, when all of a sudden, Birdee looked up and then took off from its perch that was Kira's shoulder.

"Hey! Birdee!" Kira called out as the mechanical bird flew up and out of the room, "Birdee!"

"Well, guess we're going on another wild goose chase," Ryo sighed, "Come on, Kira." Meanwhile, outside, the Zala Team was standing on the curb waiting for their ride back to the motel. The sun was setting by now and most of the day had been spent searching for information on the Legged Ship, although the afternoon had been spent celebrating Dearka's birthday.

"The security here is even tighter than the naval ports," Yzak sighed and then turned to Athrun, "How's the check-system disturbance coming along?"

"They said it's going to take a while, since the whole thing's in layers," Athrun replied, "But at the rate it's going, it'll probably be easier to just kidnap someone who can get us in."

"Just like…" Nicol said, trying to add onto the joke, "A wolf in sheep's clothing, huh, Athrun?" This earned him an odd look from everyone and he went back to looking at the map bashfully. The group stood there for a while in silence, until a sound that Athrun found very familiar rang out.

"_Birdee!_" Athrun looked up to see a small bird circling around in the air before it turned and flew towards him. Athrun studied it in flight for a moment and then the emeralds that were his eyes widened when he realized what it was.

"It can't be…" he thought as he walked forward a bit.

"Athrun?" Nicol asked, noticing, "Is something wrong?" Athrun's response was to stretch out his hand towards the bird and it fluttered down onto the offered perch, settling down comfortably as he brought it closer to his face.

"Huh? What the hell is that?" Yzak asked as he and Dearka leaned in for a closer look.

"Wow!" Nicol exclaimed, "It's a robotic bird! I thought it was real at first!" At another odd glance from Dearka and Yzak, he added with an embarrassed stutter, "Well, it looks real, doesn't it?" Athrun was too busy inspecting the robotic bird to pay attention to the others. The green and yellow color-scheme, the raised fin on its head, it looked almost exactly like…

"Birdee!" he heard someone in the distance call out and he looked up to see that someone had come out of a building on the other side of the security fence, followed closely by another. As the people looked around, Athrun realized in shock that they were none other than Kira and Ryo, both dressed in Morgenroete uniforms. Slowly, he started to walk forward across the street and the others watched in confusion as he did.

"Oh, I see," Nicol smiled, realizing what was going on, "It must belong to him."

"Oh for…" Kira muttered as he glanced around for his robotic bird, "Where did it go?"

"Um, Kira?" Ryo said, nudging his friend in the side, "I think you might want to take a look at who's found it." Kira blinked at him before looking beyond the fence. And who should he see but Athrun Zala crossing the street and walking onto the pavement near the other side of the fence.

"A-Athrun?" Kira thought, startled as he too started to move towards the fence.

"Uh-oh," Ryo said mentally, frowning a bit, "If he's here, then that means…" As he followed Kira, his eyes moved up and saw someone familiar on the other side of the road. Ryo's eyes widened a bit when he recognized the green hair, even if it was partially hidden beneath a cap. "Nicol…" he muttered, "Of course…they're in the same unit!"

"Ryo?" Nicol thought, blinking to make sure his eyes were working right, "Oh, that's right…he works here…" At that moment, a car drove out from one of the other buildings. Driving the car was Erica Simmons and the passenger was none other than Cagalli, who happened to turn her head and notice Kira and Athrun near the fence.

"Stop the car!" she said to Erica, who glanced at her quizzically. Meanwhile, Kira and Athrun had reached the fence and were now staring at each other, one with disbelief, the other with mixed feelings. Ryo stood a little ways behind Kira incase something happened but still occasionally stole a glance at Nicol every now and then. Finally, Athrun made the first move by raising the hand that held Birdee in it up to a gap in the bars.

"Is it…yours?" he asked, trying to act natural in front of the others and held the robotic bird closer to the fence.

"Oh, yes," Kira nodded and held his hands out, cupping them as if trying to catch water from a faucet, "Thank you…" Sensing a new perch, Birdee hopped from Athrun's outstretched hand into Kira's and the two stared at each other for a bit long while a breeze swept through the area. To them, it was almost like reliving the day they first went their separate ways, with Athrun handing Birdee over to Kira. Only this time, a seven-foot tall fence stood between the two, preventing them from reaching each other.

"Hey! Let's go!" Dearka suddenly shouted from the car that had pulled up, breaking the two from their reverie. As Athrun turned to leave, however, Kira suddenly couldn't contain his thoughts.

"An old friend…gave it to me!" he blurted out, causing Athrun to stop so that he could listen, "A long time ago…it's a very valuable gift…from a valuable friend…" Kira and Athrun stared for a bit more until finally, Ryo got fed up and gave Kira a good whack over the head.

"Idiot! Have you been in the Pixie Stix's again?" Ryo scowled, "I told you to lay off on those! They make you act all weird after you've had three or four!" Athrun looked on in surprise as the two bickered for a short moment and then let out a soft chuckle.

"I see…" he muttered and the two stopped fighting to watch him turn again.

"Kira! Ryo!" someone called out and they all turned to see Cagalli hurrying towards them. Athrun took this chance to leave them and by the time Cagalli had made it to where Kira and Ryo were, he had already gotten halfway across the street. As memories of their past encounters flashed through their heads, Kira and Ryo watched as Athrun made his way over to the car, stopping before going in to glance back at them one more time.

Phase 28: End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- I'll consider.

Warp Ligia Obscura- Rondo Sahakus? Never heard of them…


	30. The Turning Point

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 29: The Turning Point

_April 1, C.E. 71, PLANT Supreme Council Chamber, Aprilius 1_

It was an important day for not only the Supreme Council of PLANT, but for the entire L5 colony cluster as well. Today was the day that the new Supreme Chairman for the council was to be elected and then announced. The former had already been done and now, it was time for the results to be shown. "So, our new chairman has been decided," Representative Maxwell of Quintilis City announced, "Patrick Zala!" There was a good deal of applause and even Siegel Clyne, the former chairman, stood to congratulate his political rival in his achievement.

"I do hope that you'll look into…" he said, shaking Patrick's hand, "The Earth Forces' peace treaty that Reverend Malchio has been discussing."

"But of course!" Patrick nodded with a smile, "I'll do anything it takes to bring this war to a swift end. Please pass that on to Reverend Malchio, former chairman."

"I most certainly will," Siegel replied, although his own mind was clouded with doubt.

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Two weeks later, down on Earth, the Archangel was making its final preparations to leave. After having been extensively repaired and restocked, Murrue had finally decided that the time had come to depart from the neutral nation and continue on their journey to Alaska as soon as repairs were completely done. No one was sitting still or not doing some kind of work. Sai was in his room reading a few manuals while Flay was helping to oversee the loading of the last of the supplies and Tolle was busy with the Skygrasper simulation, determined to get a higher ranking. Currently, most of the bridge crew was busy discussing the best possible routes. "Currently, the area of most strategic interest is Panama," Kisaka told them, "Because of a rumor that was spread saying that ZAFT is planning a large scale attack there, the Carpentaria base has had its hands full focusing on that particular territory."

"Do we know how quickly they're moving?" Natarle asked, turning from a screen.

"We're not sure either," Kisaka replied, shaking his head, "Currently, ORB is also in a bit of a tight spot. We need information but at the same time, we don't want to make a huge fuss out of the fact that we don't have it. This, however, is a perfect opportunity for you. With ZAFT's attention focused on Panama, you shouldn't have much trouble slipping over to Alaska without incident."

"Well, even if we do get ambushed along the way, we just have to cross the Tropic of Cancer and then we'll be in Alaskan airspace," Neumann pointed out cheerily, "I highly doubt that even the Creuset Team would be willing to chase us that far."

"What about the other unit that chased us here?" Murrue asked, "What's the situation with them?"

"There hasn't been a single foreign battleship in ORB's waters ever since you came here," Kisaka assured her, "I don't think they're here."

"Is it possible that they retreated?" Murrue questioned, wanting to know what lay ahead.

"There's probably some kind of diplomatic situation occurring up in the PLANTs," Kisaka replied, "Although, I wish that I could be sure that this was the case.

"There are rumors going around that Representative Athha didn't know of the existence of this ship or the G's until we came here," Natarle suddenly said, "But…are those rumors true?"

"Lieutenant Badgiruel!" Murrue frowned, about to chastise her before Kisaka held up a hand to silence her.

"It's something that he didn't know about for sure," Kisaka explained to Natarle, "It's believed that the federation was pressured into arbitrarily developing them by some of the cabinet members." He added as the others listened intently, "The relationship with Morgenroete has also been uncovered. I do understand that the arguments of the people that there's a need to exercise ORB's right to defend itself more, but…if it goes that way, it will eventually end up with the civilians being added to the casualties, just like Heliopolis. Even when confronting danger, Lord Uzumi is preparing all of this so that those kinds of things do not happen. An explanation like that probably won't satisfy you, but…"

"No," Murrue said, shaking her head, "We understand now." She gave a glance at Badgiruel, who averted her eyes.

"How are the repairs coming, then?" Kisaka asked, "When will you be leaving?"

"I've received a message saying that they should be done with the last of them by tomorrow," Murrue replied, "We'll be leaving around noon."

"Then I suppose that there isn't much time," Kisaka smiled, "I wish all of you the best of luck." At this, the three officers on the bridge stood and saluted him and he smiled before returning the salute and then turned to leave.

"Colonel Kisaka!" Murrue said and Kisaka stopped to face her, "Thank you so much for everything."

"No, I've also gained a lot from this," Kisaka replied with the same smile, "I no longer have a family, but I am a native of Tassil. I know that there isn't much meaning in winning a small battle, but after seeing what was happening, I couldn't stay idle." As the others looked on, he added jokingly, "Besides, I also managed to bring a reckless runaway teenager back to her home. So, I thank you as well." With that, he turned and added as he departed, "May Haumea protect you all."

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Little did Kisaka, or any of the Archangel crew for that matter, know, the Zala Team had, in fact, not departed. Far off on another one of ORB's islands, the Cousteau was docked near the shore. Today, it was being re-supplied by a smaller ship that had come from the Carpentaria base to provide the submarine with fuel. On the Cousteau's hull, Athrun sat there staring off into the distance, the breeze playing with his hair. Even as he glanced down at the water, he could hear Dearka complaining from inside. "Really, I don't get why we're still here, that's all I'm saying," Dearka said to Yzak, who was lying down on a cot, as he looked up from his magazine, "I mean, we're even getting restocked here." Yzak only grumbled incoherently under his breath and turned over, thinking back to a meeting that the Zala Team had held a few weeks ago.

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_Flashback_

"The Legged Ship is definitely here in ORB," Athrun said, pointing at the map on the table, "I'm guessing that as soon as they leave, they're gonna head North to Alaska. That's where we'll lie in wait."

"Wait, wait, hold on a second!" Yzak frowned, "Just what proof do you have that the Legged Ship is here? And if it is, how do you know where it's gonna be going?"

"Maybe we should head back to Carpentaria to get some more info," Nicol suggested, sensing the tension that was mounting in the room, "If you don't have any proof…"

"No, it's definitely here," Athrun replied confidently, "I'm sure of it. All we have to do is wait…"

_End flashback_

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"God dammit, we've been sitting here doing nothing for two weeks ever since he said that!" Yzak growled, sitting up, "If what he was assuming about the Legged Ship was off, then it'll already be miles away from us by now!"

"Well, if you're so that we're gonna lose it, then why don't you go confront him about it?" Dearka asked jokingly, not looking up from his magazine, "What're you gonna do? Pull a coup d'etat on him and take command for yourself?"

"Well, I would," Yzak smirked, "But fortunately for Zala, I've got more common sense than to do something like that." With that, he flopped back down onto the mattress but then shot back up, grabbing at his head. "Ow! Son of a bitch!" he swore, glaring daggers at his cot while Dearka laughed, "I hate living on a submarine!" While this was going on, the Cousteau had finished its restocking and the smaller ship was reeling in its fuel tubes while a pair of technicians oversaw it. Athrun, however, was looking back to the evening when he saw the very proof that everyone had bugged him about.

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_Flashback_

"An old friend…gave it to me!" Kira blurted out, causing Athrun to stop so that he could listen, "A long time ago…it's a very valuable gift…from a valuable friend…" Kira and Athrun stared for a bit more until finally, Ryo got fed up and gave Kira a good whack over the head.

"Idiot! Have you been in the Pixie Stix's again?" Ryo scowled, "I told you to lay off on those! They make you act all weird after you've had three or four!" Athrun looked on in surprise as the two bickered for a short moment and then let out a soft chuckle.

_End Flashback_

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"But you guys were still on the other side of that fence…" Athrun muttered and then thought back to the day he first met Cagalli, who he had also seen.

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"_You…" Cagalli grunted while she managed to get her knees beneath her, "You're one of those people who attacked Heliopolis, aren't you?" This caught Athrun's attention and he turned to look at her as she added, "I was there too…I was at Heliopolis when you people destroyed it!"_

-----------------------------

_Athrun blinked in confusion and lowered his knife a bit as she continued, "I know ORB was wrong for making it…but…but that Mobile Suit…it's just gonna bring more pain to the world and take away even more innocent lives!"_

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"Cagalli Yula Athha, huh?" he asked no one in particular, "She wasn't with the Earth Forces in the end, but…"

"Athrun!" he heard someone call out from behind him and he turned to see Nicol hurrying over to him, his crimson uniform jacket unbuttoned like Athrun's, "The supplying is done, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Athrun nodded, "We're finished."

"That's great," Nicol smiled and then pointed off into the distance, "You know, if you go stand on the deck over there, you can see a school of flying fish leaping out of the water. You wanna go see?"

"No thanks," Athrun replied, shaking his head, "Maybe some other time…"

"Look, Athrun," Nicol sighed, "We've been looking for the Legged Ship for weeks now. Don't you think it's time to head back to the Carpentaria base?"

"What, did Yzak tell you to ask me that?" Athrun asked.

"No, I…"

"I know that everyone's tired of waiting," Athrun sighed, "But the Legged Ship is definitely here, I just know it is…" Pausing for a bit, he smiled and said, "Shall we step back inside?"

"It's hard, isn't it?" Nicol suddenly asked, "Being put in charge like this so suddenly, I mean." Seeing Athrun's odd look, he added, "Don't go trying to solve everything on your own, okay? I believe in you, so I'll do anything I can to help."

"Thanks, Nicol," Athrun smiled and the two ended up staying outside for a while longer. During this time, Athrun asked Nicol, "Say, Nicol, I've been wondering. Why exactly did you join ZAFT in the first place?" When Nicol gave him a confused look, he hastily said, "Oh, sorry, never mind. It was a stupid question."

"Nah, it's alright," Nicol smiled, watching a seagull fly by, "To tell you the truth, I just felt that I needed to fight. After hearing about what happened at Junius Seven, I knew that I couldn't stay idle…" Turning, he asked, "What about you?"

"Same as you, Nicol," Athrun shrugged and then gazed out over the water.

"You know, I ran into Ryo the other day while I was out getting the insect repellent," Nicol suddenly said, "And then I saw him again when you were returning that robotic bird to its owner." At this, Athrun looked up in alarm and Nicol noticed this, "Athrun?"

"He still doesn't know…" Athrun thought, "Well, I can't keep it from him forever…" "Listen, Nicol," he said firmly, "There's something that you need to know about Ryo."

"What is it?"

"Ryo…" Athrun sighed, "Is with the Earth Forces." Nicol was so surprised that he almost slipped and fell off of the deck.

"H-he what?" Nicol stuttered, "No way…Ryo? That can't be! He told me that he was a janitor at Morgenroete!"

"That's how I know that the Legged Ship is here, Nicol," Athrun said grimly, "He's the pilot of one of their Mobile Suits, the unknown unit. The moment I saw him, I knew that the Legged Ship had to be here too."

"That's crazy…" Nicol replied, shaking his head in disbelief, "Why would he…the Earth Forces of all places!"

"I don't know why either," Athrun sighed, "But Nicol, I have to tell you now. Even if he is your friend, even if you two have trusted each other for the longest time, you can't let that affect how you fight. He knows that I'm a ZAFT pilot, Nicol, and he probably guessed that you were with me when he saw us together."

"But Ryo would never…" Nicol said, "Why would he betray his own people?"

"The world's a messed up place these days," Athrun replied simply, "Nothing's the way it used to be anymore…"

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The next day, the moment had arrived. All of the Archangel's crewmembers were aboard and at their stations as the ship prepared to depart. "Open the flood gates!" one of the technicians called out.

"Open the flood gates!"

"Open the flood gates!" At this, the flood gates that kept the water out of the bay opened and water came rushing in. On board, Kuzzey looked at the seat besides Neumann, which was where Tolle usually sat. Today, however, it was empty and he sighed as Miriallia did the same. As for Tolle, he was sitting in the second Skygrasper unit, dressed in a standard issue flight suit.

"I'll be fine!" Tolle said assuredly to Murdoch and Mu, "I've done it perfectly on the simulation! I can do it, just trust me, okay?"

"Well, if this nutcase does go out with Skygrasper 2," Murdoch sighed, glancing at Mu, "It'll definitely provide a larger advantage. This way, we can provide more support for the Strike." At that moment, Kira and Ryo walked in, dressed in their own pilot suits, and the two did a double take when they saw Tolle.

"What the…Tolle?" Ryo blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure that they were working correctly, "What's with the outfit?"

"Well, ever since Heliopolis, you guys have been fighting to protect us, haven't you?" Tolle asked, "I kept thinking that I should do the same thing too. After all, you guys are my best friends!"

"Tolle," Kira frowned, "What…"

"That's why, starting today, I'm gonna be fighting too! As a Skygrasper pilot!" Tolle explained excitedly, "I finally made it to Class S on the simulator, which means I'm good to go for piloting the real thing!"

"Tolle, this isn't a game," Ryo told him, "The bullets are gonna be real this time. The Skygrasper isn't gonna last as long as it does in the simulator."

"I know, I know," Tolle replied assuredly, "I'm only gonna provide visual support for you guys, you know, surveillance and stuff. Don't worry about it."

"Was this Badgiruel's order?" Mu asked.

"Nope!" Tolle smiled, "This was my decision! I volunteered for this!"

"Tolle…"

"Forget it, Kira," Ryo sighed, "This is something he wants to do. Let him go."

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Meanwhile, at the Athha mansion, Cagalli was making her own preparations to leave. She was already dressed in her normal combat attire, zipping up the zippers on her boots. Getting up, she pulled on her Kevlar vest and zipped that up as well before going over to her closet. As she opened it, though she thought back to a few weeks ago, when she had seen Athrun walking around near the Morgenroete factory. She knew that she ought to be worried, especially since Athrun had most likely been spying for ZAFT, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to doubt him. Sighing, she tossed her bag onto her bed next to her handgun, already in its holster. She was just opening it when someone knocked on her door before opening it. "Cagalli," the person said and she turned to see her father approaching her, "Are you going with that ship?"

"What's it look like?" Cagalli asked, turning back to her bag.

"Then does this mean…" Uzumi frowned, "That you will be fighting ZAFT as a member of the Earth Forces? Is that how badly you want to fight?"

"Who said I wanted to fight?" Cagalli snapped, looking up again, "I never said that I did!"

"Then what is it?" Uzumi asked her, "What are you trying to achieve?"

"I just wanna help them out!" Cagalli argued, "I just want to end the war!"

"Does the war end when you step in?" Uzumi shot back and Cagalli froze when she remembered that Kira and Ryo had said something similar to this only two weeks ago. Then, she remembered Andrew Waltfield's question of if a war was decided only when one side was completely destroyed.

"I know it won't, but…"

"Listen, to me, Cagalli," Uzumi said sternly, "If you shoot a man, then his wife will hate you. If you shoot a boy, then his mother would hate you. And if you were to die by someone else's hand, then I would hate them. Why can you not understand such a simple chain reaction?"

"I know about that!" Cagalli frowned, "But from where I'm standing, I'm the only one in this whole country who's really happy!"

"Then what are you trying to change with such a false sense of justice?" Uzumi challenged, raising his voice, "What are you trying to achieve, Cagalli?" Cagalli winced at this, having rarely heard her father shout at such a volume before. However, Uzumi calmed down almost instantly and put his hands on his daughter's shoulders as he added, "A war is not all about wielding a gun or a sword; you must understand the rules of battle, Cagalli."

"Father…"

"If everyone in the world joined this fight," Uzumi said, "Then there would be no end to the war." Cagalli sighed and looked back at her handgun, still lying in its holster innocently on her bed. She knew that once her father was like this, there was no arguing with him.

"I guess you're right…" she grumbled and Uzumi nodded before giving her an affectionate pat on the shoulder and leaving the room. Later that afternoon, a small fleet consisting of four battleships was leaving the harbor. At the same time, the Archangel was finally getting ready to leave, when a message was suddenly sent to them.

"Incoming message from the ORB fleet," Pal announced, "They haven't detected any enemy ships in the vicinity. We're to depart as scheduled."

"Send them an affirmative reply," Murrue told him and Pal nodded.

"Is the ORB fleet gonna follow us?" Sai asked down below from the CIC.

"They're just gonna help conceal us from the enemy," Tonomura replied, "If they bunch up around us, then it'll be harder for ZAFT's submarines to detect us on the radar. As long as they don't investigate too closely, we should be able to fool them, even if we do pass by a ship or two." Meanwhile, up in an observatory deck, Uzumi, Kisaka, and Erica were watching the ship get ready to leave. Also amongst them were Caridad and Haruma Yamato, who had hoped to at least get a glimpse of their son before the ship left.

"Representative Attha is here to see us off," Pal said to the rest of the bridge, "They're also requesting that Ensigns Yamato and Mouri be sent up to the deck." Even though there was a bit of confusion at the odd request, nevertheless, Kira and Ryo climbed up onto the deck of the ship a few minutes later.

"What in the world did they send us up here for?" Ryo asked, "If we stay here for long, we're gonna delay our departure…"

"Kira!" someone called out from down below and both of them looked to see Cagalli running onto a ramp that connected the port to the ship, dressed in a white ORB uniform and waving at them frantically.

"Cagalli?" Kira blinked, "What's she…"

"Kira! You're parents!" Cagalli yelled and pointed off into the distance, "Up there!" Kira looked at where she was pointing and was surprised when he recognized the figures of his mother and father up in the observation deck; the first trying to call out to him, the other waving good-bye. As Ryo looked as well, Caridad broke down into tears and Haruma put a comforting arm around her before nodding at Kira.

"Come on, Kira," Ryo said, nudging the brunette in the side, "The least you can do is wave good-bye or something." Kira nodded and turned back to where his parents were and slowly raised his hand and waved to them, signaling that he had indeed seen them. Just then, they heard someone climbing up onto the deck and they turned as Kira lowered his hand to see Cagalli appear, breathing heavily after having ran the entire way.

"You…" she panted as she knelt for a moment to catch her breath, "Kira…why didn't you go meet them…?" Kira looked away for a moment and Cagalli frowned before going up to him and saying, "Hey, are you listening to me, Kira?" That was when she saw the expression on his face and her mood softened a bit, "Kira?"

"Could you…apologize to them for me later?" Kira asked her, "Right now…I…" Memories of Athrun came flooding back into his mind and he lowered his gaze as his vision started to blur from tears that were beginning to form. Cagalli was silent for a moment before she smiled and nodded.

"Okay," she said, "I'll talk to them for you later." Kira nodded his thanks to her and turned to leave, with Ryo close behind him.

"Thanks for everything…" Kira smiled, "I'm…glad I met you…"

"Ditto," Ryo nodded, "Even if you are kind of crazy, it beats being boring, right?" Cagalli glared at him, although she couldn't stop a small smile from forming on her lips.

"Well, take care, Cagalli," Kira said and the two pilots turned to leave again when suddenly, Cagalli was seized by a sudden impulse to say good-bye again.

"Kira!" she called out and as the two turned, she went over and threw her arms around the said brunette, surprising not only Kira, but Ryo and everyone who was watching from the observation deck as well.

"Whoa!" Ryo blinked, "Hello…"

"Don't die, okay?" Cagalli asked, not noticing, "Kira?" After a bit of silence, Kira got over the shock and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Kira smiled, the tears now coming free, "I'm fine now…"

"Alright, lovebirds," Ryo sighed and pried the two apart, "Time to go your separate ways again…" At this, Kira and Cagalli realized what they had just done and both of them blushed heavily, much to Ryo's amusement. As they went down and then walked Cagalli back to the exit, Ryo stopped her and said, "You stay out of trouble, okay, princess?" Cagalli hit him on the shoulder, but this time, it was playful instead of angry. Smiling, Ryo gave her a quick salute and Kira nodded at Cagalli before the door closed, sealing them off from each other. Later, as the gate to the dock was being lowered, the Archangel's thrusters began to warm up beneath the water. Soon, the ship began to move forward and the group in the observation deck watched. And down below on the docks, Cagalli watched as a draft from outside came in, blowing her hair about as the ship slowly grew smaller and smaller, joining up with the small fleet that had gone out ahead. If one had been there to watch, they would have seen that even though it was a fair distance behind them, the Archangel was still about twice the size of its escort ships. The grand ship was finally heading for home.

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"Status?" Athrun asked as he walked into the command room, fixing the collar of his uniform.

"They're a bit behind schedule," the captain said, "But they're definitely heading north. We still haven't identified them yet."

"That's got to be it," Athrun thought and then ordered, "Get everyone to their battle stations. Please hurry with the identifications."

"Yes sir," the captain nodded as Athrun turned and left. Meanwhile, the Archangel and its escort were approaching the territorial border of ORB and would soon be out into ZAFT territory.

"We're approaching the borderline," Chandra announced, "We should be there momentarily."

"No enemy ships detected in the area," Pal added, "It's clear so far."

"Keep a sharp look-out," Murrue warned them, "After the escort fleet withdraws, we're going to ascend and head full speed to Alaska."

"Incoming message from the escort fleet's flagship," Kuzzey said, "They're about to withdraw from this sector and they wish us the best of luck on our journey."

"Reply and thank them for the escort," Murrue nodded, "All hands, stand by!" At the moment, Kira and Ryo were already getting prepared for a fight, even though the alarms hadn't been sounded yet.

"How come you guys are all dressed up already?" Murdoch asked as he leaned against the Strike's cockpit, "We haven't received any orders yet."

"As soon as we cross the border, ZAFT will attack us," Kira replied as he climbed into the cockpit, "We're just getting a head start."

"Huh?"

"Just trust us on this, Murdoch," Ryo said as he too climbed into his cockpit, "It's pilot's instinct, you know?"

"Uh…" While Murdoch tried to figure what exactly the two pilots were telling him, the escort fleet began to separate, opening a path for the Archangel to go through. The ship's main thrusters powered up and the Archangel began to accelerate, speeding up until finally leaving the water. It was about this time that an alarm was sounded inside the Cousteau, where the Zala Team was already standing by to launch.

"A ship is separating from the ORB fleet!" an officer announced, "Identifying…it's the Legged Ship!"

"Huh?" Yzak blinked, obviously surprised that Athrun had been right all along.

"Whoa," Dearka whistled, "Not bad, Zala."

"Right on the bulls-eye," Nicol smiled, having known that Athrun was right the whole time, "Athrun."

"Alright, we're launching!" Athrun declared, "That ship goes down today!"

"Launch isolation is go!" the technician said, "Opening hatches! Course clear! Activating linear catapults!" The Cousteau's three vertical catapults opened and the Aegis was shot out from the first one, the magnetic fields causing the water around the surfaced submarine to ripple outward. The Buster, Duel, and the Blitz followed in their respective order before the Guuls were launched as well. Each Gundam landed on a Guul and the Zala Team began its chase after the Archangel. And moments later, the Archangel's radar had detected them.

"Radar detecting…three…no, four Mobile Suits!" Pal announced.

"Identifying models," Tonomura said as the bridge crew glanced nervously at each other, "Aegis! Buster! Blitz! Duel!"

"They were hiding!" Natarle frowned, "They were waiting for us out here the whole time!"

"Engage them! All hands prepare for anti-Mobile Suit combat!" Murrue ordered, "All we have to do is lose them. I know that it's a tall order, but I'm sure that we can do it. Good luck, all of you."

"ECM at full power!" Natarle said, "Smoke dischargers, launch! Deploy the smoke screen as well!" Meanwhile, the Strike and X had both gone out on the same catapult and were standing by, Phase Shift Armor still de-active. The reason for this was because now they had to launch two Skygraspers and they would need the other catapult open to make a quick launch. Upon that same catapult, two hatches opened and what looked like a large power cable rose from each hole. The Strike, already equipped with its Launcher Striker pack, knelt down and pulled on the cable to extend it before plugging it into the bottom of its Agni impulse cannon.

"Circuits connected!" Kira told the bridge, "Secondary power online! Strike, standing by!" Meanwhile, Ryo was having a little bit of trouble doing the same. For one thing, the X's Scylla Cannon was mounted higher up than the Agni and so he had to stretch the cable out quite a bit. And then there was the fact that there was no where to plug the cable into until Ryo discovered that it fit quite snugly into the back when he removed the handle of the X's oversized beam saber.

"X, standing by!" Ryo nodded as the bridge launchers, normally used to launch Anti-beam Depth Charges, now launched smoke dischargers, missile-like projectiles that released thick clouds of smoke when they detonated. Several hatches on the Archangel opened up and added to the smoke screen until the ship was almost entirely concealed while the ship readied its Gottfried cannons. Inside the hangar, Tolle was getting ready, as he was to launch shortly after Mu. Sitting inside the Skygrasper's cockpit, he tried to shake off the pre-battle jitters by rubbing his hands together before gripping the controls tightly.

"Hey, don't be so nervous, kid," Mu suddenly said to him from the other Skygrasper, "All you have to do is provide back up for the Strike and X. Leave the enemy Mobile Suits to me."

"R-roger!" Tolle stammered, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"Alright, let's go!" Mu nodded, "Don't get killed!" With that, he stepped down on the accelerator and the Skygrasper sped down the runway before launching, equipped with the Aile Striker pack. When it had left, Tolle's Skygrasper, which had the Sword Striker equipped, moved into place as the safety net was raised behind it.

"Course clear!" Miriallia said, "Skygrasper, Koenig Unit, please launch!" Quickly, she added under her breath so that only Tolle could hear, "Please be careful." Tolle smiled a bit and then launched but he was so unprepared for the impact of the G-forces that he was pushed back into the seat as the fighter roared out from the catapult.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, "I'm gonna have to get used to that!" Meanwhile, the Zala Team had made it in front of the Archangel and were now moving to cut them off.

"Smoke screen!" Dearka warned the others, although it was rather pointless since all of them could see it.

"Tsch, they're getting cute with us!" Yzak remarked before he saw the two Skygrasper fly out from the smoke, "What the hell? I thought they only had one fighter craft!" With that, he aimed the Duel's rifle and fired two bursts at the two.

"Move, kid!" Mu exclaimed and veered off to the right while Tolle quickly went left, dodging the beams. "Alright, so far so good!" Mu nodded, "Go back up the Strike and X! I'll take care of these guys!"

"Sir!" Tolle replied and quickly keyed the radio, "This is Skygrasper, Koenig Unit! Strike, X, can you hear me down there? I'm gonna relay the enemy's position and targeting info to you now!"

"Copy that!" Ryo nodded and the targeting visor flipped over his eyes.

"Tolle," Kira thought as he too lowered his targeting visor, "Roger! Standing by!" As soon as the coordinates were sent, the targeting computer immediately traced the signal to where the four Mobile Suits were and the Strike and X opened fire, their weapons tearing holes through the smoke. Luckily for the Zala Team, they saw the beams coming and moved out of the way, although it was a very narrow miss.

"Everyone scatter!" Athrun barked and the others wasted no time complying as more blasts came their way.

"Okay! We've separated them!" Ryo declared, "Let's go, Kira!"

"Right!" Kira nodded and flipped the targeting visor back up before both units disconnected the cables and activated their Phase Shift Armor. Then, they both took to the skies, breaking through the smoke screen into the open air.

"Strike!" Yzak snarled and launched missiles from his Guul as soon as he saw his nemesis appear.

"You're not going anywhere!" Dearka frowned and fired the Buster's gun-launcher and beam rifle. Much to their dismay, however, the Strike and X avoided both attacks and then fired at the Buster, Strike with the Agni and X with its beam rifle. Both shots hit the wings of the Guul that the Buster was riding on and Dearka was jerked around a bit before the Strike came up and kicked it off of the Guul, sending it plummeting from the sky.

"Damn you!" Yzak swore and turned, firing the Duel's Igelstellung guns as he charged the two. In his fury, however, he forgot that the Strike and X also had Phase Shift Armor and while his shots pinged harmlessly off of them, the Strike fired its anti-ship Vulcan cannon while the X used it's quad-barrel Igelstellung gun to damage the engines of Yzak's Guul, rendering it useless. Yzak swore and struggled to regain control as the Guul lost power and started to fall towards the ocean.

"Hold on, Yzak!" Athrun called out even as the Aegis blocked two shots from Mu's Skygrasper as it flew by, "We'll get you as soon as we…" Athrun was cut off when the X shot at the Aegis and Athrun was forced to block. Meanwhile, the Strike had made its withdrawal and was heading back to the ship. Aegis and Blitz immediately gave chase on their Guuls, hoping to catch it.

"Take this!" Nicol shouted and both the Blitz and Aegis opened fire upon the Strike, only to have the X step in to provide cover fire. "Ryo…" Nicol thought when he remembered what Athrun had told him, "Is that really you in there?" By now, the Strike had already landed safely on the Archangel's hull and the Aegis was about to follow when Athrun saw the front of the Archangel start to poke out from the smoke screen. Then, a burst of energy shot from the smoke as the Archangel's Gottfried cannons fired, forcing the Aegis and Blitz to fall back a little. Soon, the entire ship had emerged from the smoke screen and was getting ready to fight.

"Valiant 1 and Helldart! Aim, fire!" Natarle ordered and the Archangel's port linear gun shot at the Aegis while its Helldart missiles launched from behind the bridge. Athrun veered the Aegis aside to avoid the Valiant's rounds and used the Aegis' Igelstellung guns to shoot down the incoming missiles while the Blitz did the same with the beam rifle installed into its shield. "Link the vector data to the Nano Company uplink!" Natarle said, "Ensign Neumann, maintain our current course!"

"Roger that!" Neumann nodded. Meanwhile, the Strike had deactivated its Phase Shift Armor and ejected the Launcher Striker pack as Mu's Skygrasper flew towards it from behind.

"Lieutenant Commander Flaga's unit is approaching!" Kuzzey announced.

"Kira!" Miriallia said, "Standby for Aile-equipment exchange!"

"Roger!" Kira nodded and waited.

"Alright, kid!" Mu called out as he closed in on the bridge, "Here's your present!"

"Okay," Kira said, "Go ahead, Lieutenant Commander!" The Strike activated its thrusters and took to the air just as Mu's Skygrasper flew over the bridge. Moments later, the Aile Striker pack ejected itself from the back of the Skygrasper and its computer homed in on the Strike's signal. As the Strike used its forward thrusters to slow down, the Aile pack connected to its back and the shield and beam rifle were ejected from the Skygrasper's weapon pods. The Strike reached out and grabbed the beam rifle as the shield attached itself to its left arm before it activated its Phase Shift Armor again and flew off, Mu's Skygrasper close behind.

"That guy…" Nicol blinked, "Changed his equipment in mid-air?"

"Athrun…" Kira thought as the Strike put its beam rifle away and drew a beam saber instead, charging the two Mobile Suits while the X followed. Nicol responded by launching the Blitz's Gleipnir piercer lock at the Strike, which it destroyed by cutting through it with its beam saber.

"Kira!" Ryo called out as the Blitz ignited its own saber from its shield and clashed with the Strike, "I'll leave the Blitz to you!" With that, he turned the X around and headed for the Aegis, which was shooting at Mu's Skygrasper with its Igelstellung guns as it flew by. Up above, Tolle was watching the battle from his Skygrasper and little by little, he began to have second thoughts about doing nothing.

"Kira…" he thought and then, his mind made up, he veered the Skygrasper over and towards the battle below, where the Strike and Blitz had just pushed themselves out of a deadlock.

"Damn!" Nicol swore, something he rarely did and aimed the Blitz's Trikeros offensive shield system at the Strike, planning on launching its Lancer Darts. At that moment, however, two missiles came as if from no where and struck the Blitz on its shield arm, distracting him. "What the…" Nicol frowned and looked to see Tolle's Skygrasper fly past, "Bastard!"

"Kira!" Tolle called out even as he flew past.

"Tolle?" Kira wondered but put the thought out of his head as he charged forward in the Strike. In a single deft movement, the Strike swung down with its beam saber and severed the Blitz's right arm from its body, rendering it weaponless, before kicking it off of its Guul and docking with it itself.

"Alright!" Tolle cheered as he looked back, "He got it!"

"Tolle!" Ryo called out, "Watch where you're going!" Tolle looked back ahead and grimaced as he veered aside, narrowly missing a collision with the X.

"Sorry!" Tolle apologized even as the Strike deactivated its beam saber and put it away.

"Dammit!" Athrun swore and charged the Strike, firing as he went. The Strike drew its beam rifle and traded fire, ducking behind its shield every now and then to block a shot. Both units made several fly-by shots at each other but neither of them was gaining the upper hand.

"Athrun…" Kira muttered, remembering when Athrun returned Birdee to him back at ORB. Just then, Aegis charged again and Ryo saw an opening.

"Kira! Now!" Ryo shouted and Kira nodded before both shot at the Aegis' Guul, Kira's shot going right through the center while Ryo's hit its wing. Seeing that the Guul was now useless, Athrun had the Aegis jump as the Guul's momentum carried it forward, slamming into the Strike's Guul only seconds after it jumped as well. Athrun knew that he wouldn't have much time in the air and so transformed the Aegis into Mobile Armor mode, trying to shoot down the Strike and X with its Scylla Cannon. The shots went wide, however, and both units landed on the Archangel's hull before its Gottfried cannons fired, grazing the side of the Aegis. Athrun saw that his mobility was inhibited by gravity even in Mobile Armor mode and quickly transformed the Aegis back to Mobile Suit mode, deciding that he would have better chances on the small rock island below him.

"Kira!" Tolle called out as Kira and Ryo watched, "I'm gonna eject the Sword pack!"

"Tolle…"

"Go on, Kira," Ryo said, "You'll need the Sword for close-combat." "Something doesn't feel right," Ryo frowned to himself, "I've got a bad feeling about this…" Meanwhile, the Aegis had landed on the isle and immediately found itself bombarded by Igelstellung fire. Even as he raised the Aegis' shield, Athrun saw that the Aegis' batter was starting to run low on energy, meaning that his Phase Shift Armor would not last much longer. Just then, his radar reacted to something and he looked up to see the Strike, now equipped with the Sword Striker pack, descending with the X beside it.

"Athrun!" Kira shouted and swung the Strike's anti-ship sword, severing the Aegis' beam rifle as it raised it to shoot. The weapon exploded and the Aegis was thrown back, raising its shield again.

"Cease fire!" Natarle ordered when she saw that the Strike and X were there as well and the barrage stopped immediately, "Ensign Yamato and Ensign Mouri! Don't go in too deep!"

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Badgiruel," Ryo said, "We'll be fine." With the Strike and X standing side by side and the Archangel behind it, it seemed that Athrun had no where to run anymore.

"Retreat already, Athrun!" Kira begged, "This battle's over!"

"Shut up!" Athrun snarled and ignited the Aegis' arm-saber, charging the Strike.

"Come on, Athrun, don't make us do this!" Ryo frowned, changing the X's rifle into a shield, "We don't wanna do this!"

"Athrun, stop!" Kira said, "We don't want to fight you anymore! Just leave us alone!" The Aegis swung its saber at the Strike, which jumped over it and brought its sword down, forcing the Aegis to block with its shield. The two were stuck in a temporary deadlock before the Aegis pushed the Strike away and stepped back.

"It's too late for that!" Athrun replied, "Just hurry up and shoot me. Just like you said you would!" Aegis raised its arm and performed a downward slice, which the Strike blocked as he added, "Isn't that what you said you would do, Kira? That you would destroy me?" With that, he ejected the Aegis' shield and ignited the saber on the left arm, swinging it vertically. The blow was blocked by the X's shield and when it was parried, the Strike brought up its free hand and landed a solid punch on the Aegis' face plate, knocking it over backwards. As soon as it hit the ground, its battery finally died and its sabers and Phase Shift Armor both deactivated, leaving it completely vulnerable.

"Athrun!" Kira shouted as he raised the Schwert Gewehr sword and Athrun grimaced, preparing himself for his fate.

"Athrun!" a voice suddenly called out, "Get out of there, now!" All heads on the battlefield turned to see the Blitz materialize out of thin air, its right arm missing and it was holding a single Lancer Dart in its left hand like a spear.

"That voice, who…" Ryo muttered and then it all came back to him, "Nicol?" Even as he said this, he remembered that he had dreamed of a similar scenario as this the previous night. The Aegis, lying helpless on the ground with the Strike standing over it and preparing the finishing blow. The Blitz materializing out of thin air and charging the Strike, just as it was doing now. And then, Ryo remembered what had happened at the end of the dream. "Nicol!" Ryo shouted, "Nicol stop! You're gonna run right into…!" It was too late, even as Nicol looked up in surprise, the Blitz thrust the Lancer Dart in its hand forward and by instinct, Kira had the Strike stoop down to avoid it. As it did so, however, the Strike's combat computer immediately kicked in and its arms moved the sword so that it was facing horizontally. The result was that the Blitz couldn't stop in time and its own momentum carried it right into the beam edge of the Schwert Gewehr, causing the beam to slice into the cockpit and bury itself into Nicol's abdomen. Even from outside, all of them could hear Nicol's scream of pain as the Blitz froze and stood there like a statue. Shocked, Kira had the Strike let go of the sword and it backed away, the sword still lodged into the Blitz's torso as sparks flew from the "wound" like blood. "Nicol…" Ryo gasped, gazing in horror as did Kira and Athrun, "Nicol! Nicol, can you hear me? It's me, Ryo!"

"R-Ryo…?" Nicol asked weakly, struggling to stay conscious, "It…it really…is you…"

"Nicol, you've got to get out of there!" Ryo called out, "You can still make it out before the Blitz explodes!"

"C-can't…." Nicol grimaced, "It…it hurts, Ryo…it hurts…" And that was when Ryo realized that it was too late to save his friend. But even in his shock, denial set in and he shook his head even as tears started to well up.

"Come on, Nicol…" Ryo said, "Don't talk like that, you'll be fine…"

"Ryo…please…" Nicol begged, "Make it…make it stop…make it stop hurting…" All of the pilots heard this and it didn't take long for them to realize just what Nicol wanted Ryo to do. The sword had been lodged into a spot that wasn't critical and because of that, the Blitz wouldn't explode until its reactor was penetrated. And the sword wasn't in deep enough to do that.

"No…" Ryo stuttered, "No, Nicol…don't…don't make me! Nicol, don't make me do this!"

"Ryo…"

"God dammit, Nicol!" Ryo shouted, tears now streaking down his face, "Don't ask me that! Anything but that!" Ryo was now torn between decisions. He didn't want to have to kill Nicol but he knew that letting Nicol suffer would be more cruel than to end his pain quickly.

"Ryo…" Nicol whimpered, "Please…" At this, Ryo finally gave in, he knew that no matter how much he was going to regret doing this, it was something that he had to do.

"Okay, Nicol…" Ryo nodded tearfully, drawing the X's saber, "You win…"

"Athrun…" Nicol struggled to say, "R-run…"

"Nicol…" Athrun muttered, unable to do anything but watch as the X pulled back its arm.

"Hold still, now…Nicol…" Ryo said shakily, "This…this won't take long…" Even as his hand tightened around the controls he added, "I'm…I'm sorry…old pal…" Squeezing his eyes shut so that he wouldn't have to watch what he was about to do, he pushed the controls forward and the X drove its arm straight at the Blitz's cockpit, the tip of the saber heading right at the cockpit.

"Ryo…" Nicol thought and smiled even as blood spattered against his visor, cracking it, "Thank you…" Even as he waited for his doom, he thought back to his mother and how sorry he was that he didn't get another chance to see her again.

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"_You be careful, now…I'm sure you'll do just fine…"_

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"Mom…" Nicol thought as green light filled his vision and the pain started to leave, "My…piano…" It was the last thing he ever thought, as the X's saber pierced the Blitz's reactor and caused it to overload, resulting in an explosion bigger than any of them had ever seen coming from a Mobile Suit. Athrun gasped in shock as he watched the fireball consumed the Blitz and his friend with it. The Strike had raised its small shield to protect itself from flying debris while inside, Kira stared at his shaking hands in shock before they clenched into fists. It was about then that the Buster and Duel flew out from beneath the waves just in time to see the Blitz's destruction, shocking both Dearka and Yzak. By now, the Aegis had stood up and was still even as debris bounced off of it. Athrun shook his head and his whole body shook as the truth began to set in.

"NICOOOOOL!" he cried out in anguish, refusing to believe that his friend, the only real friend he had ever had in his entire service in ZAFT, had just died in front of his face. And as for Ryo, he too was in a state of shock of what he had just done. The X was still in its stabbing position, the handle of its saber halfway melted and useless due to the intensity of the explosion. He couldn't even bring himself to cry, such was the intensity of his horror that all he could do was shake in his seat and stare. And then, all of the memories, the ones that he had once shared with Nicol as a child and had forgotten, came flooding back to him at once. His chest contracted into itself worse than it had ever done, his grief adding to the pain. It was as if his whole torso was about to implode on itself and he let out a single cry of agony before his world went dark.

Phase 29: End

Author's note: Well, thought that you might like a small twist to the ending. I've been planning this chapter for quite a while and I personally like it. Not too sure about you guys, though.

To the reviewers:

Warp Ligia Obscura- I assume that you are talking about the Astray manga, am I correct?


	31. Flashing Blades

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 30: Flashing Blades

_April 15, C.E. 71, Unknown location, Earth_

For a moment, all that could be heard was the sickening crackle of flames that sprang from the scattered pieces of metal as Athrun and Kira stared soundlessly at the smoldering remains of the Blitz. The Schwert Gewehr sword had been flung away and the tip was now buried into the ground. The Blitz's torso, still moderately intact, was smoking from every possible opening. Nobody moved, until the Buster and Duel landed behind the Strike. "Nicol..." Dearka muttered, staring at the scenario in front of him.

"I-It can't be!" Yzak gaped, equally shocked. Although the two of them had always thought lowly upon Nicol, they still respected him for his kind nature deep down beneath their hard exterior. They had never thought in their wildest dreams that of all people, Nicol would be the first of their team to fall in battle. Eventually, however, the shock that consumed the Zala Team turned into all out fury as the Duel and Buster charged forward with thoughts of avenging their fallen comrade. "Damn you!" Yzak swore, "Strike!"

"Athrun!" Dearka called out as the Duel and Buster fired at the Strike and X. Kira instinctively had the Strike turn and block the fire with its shield but the X remained motionless, standing where it was even as a few shots hit it.

"Ryo!"Kira shouted as the Strike leaped to avoid another shot from the Buster's anti-armor shotgun, "Get out of there! You're gonna get hit!" When he received no response, he called out again, "Ryo!"

"Ensign Yamato, Ensign Mouri! What are you two doing?" Natarle asked from the Archangel as it flew overhead. As one of the underside Igelstellung guns fired at the Duel and Buster to keep them distracted, she added, "Return to the ship at once! I told you that there's no need to chase them so far!" Kira knew what she meant and nodded before turning to the still motionless X.

"Ryo, come on! We're going back!" Kira said, "Ryo!" There was still no answer and Kira started to grow worried, "Ryo! Lets go!" Moving over, the Strike grabbed onto the X and despite the added weight, was able to take off towards the ship.

"Come back here you cowards!" Yzak shouted and started shooting again, stopping only when the Duel and Buster were once more bombarded by Igelstellung fire.

"Yzak, that's enough! We have to pull out!" Dearka said, firing back with the Buster as it moved towards the Aegis, "Athrun, come on! We've gotta get the hell out of here if we don't want to get shot down!" Athrun grimaced a bit and nodded.

"Alright, fall back!" he ordered and the three flew off towards the shore line before disappearing into the waves, heading back to the Cousteau. Up above, the Strike had carried the immobile X up onto the Archangel's hull, where Kira was repeatedly trying to get Ryo to respond.

"We're withdrawing from the combat area!" Murrue said from the bridge, "Engines at full speed ahead!" Even as the ship sped away from the isle, Kira stopped calling out to Ryo temporarily to look back at it, dimly able to make out the scattered pieces of the Blitz. The incident flashed back to him; he had only been stooping down to avoid being jabbed, he hadn't meant for the Schwert Gewehr sword to be where it had been so that the Blitz could run into it. He had heard Athrun cry out the pilot's name and Kira could swear that it sounded familiar. Later, when both machines had been stowed away in the hangar, Kira descended from the cockpit via zip-line, his helmet under his arm. As soon as he touched the floor, a group of technicians came up to congratulate him, amongst them was Murdoch.

"Hey, good work, kid," Murdoch smiled, giving Kira a pat on the shoulder, "I hear you guys finally got one!" Kira's head snapped up at the comment as others came over.

"It was the Blitz, wasn't it?" another said, ruffling Kira"s hair.

"Great work!"

"I gotta tell ya', kid, you two have been fighting pretty well lately!" Murdoch said, pulling Kira into a headlock after he had tried to pull away, "Or should I say, Ensign Yamato?"

"Yeah, we've got nothing to worry about now!" another technician remarked as the others laughed.

"Keep up the good work!" another said as Mu walked up to the crowd, curious as to what was going on. At this, Kira couldn't take another remark and his grip on his helmet tightened in anger.

"Please...please, stop this!" Kira snapped and the technicians immediately stopped laughing, looking at him oddly, "How can you just go and congratulate us like this...when we just took someone's life?"

"But haven't you been doing that this whole time?" one of them asked, "Why's this time any different?" Kira realized with shock that the technician was right and it was then that Mu showed up and saw the tension growing.

"Okay, that's enough!" Mu said, parting the crowd, "Kira's probably tired from this whole thing and so is Ryo. Speaking of which, where is that guy anyway?" All of a sudden, Kira remembered and he took off running towards the stairs near the X. "Kira?" Mu blinked as he watched him run before taking off after him, "Hey, Kira!" By now, Kira was climbing up the stairs and a moment later, he had reached the top and hurried over to where the X was standing.

"Ryo!" he called out, climbing onto the cockpit door, "Ryo, what's going on in there? Ryo!"

"Geez, kid!" Mu wheezed when he had reached the top as well, 'What's with the big rush?"

"Lieutenant Commander, help me get his cockpit open!" Kira said, "Something's wrong with him, he's not responding!" What had been curiosity turned to concern as the two hammered on the cockpit door calling out to the pilot inside until Murdoch showed up with a few technicians.

"Alright, you two, step aside," Murdoch sighed and the two stepped down, "You're not gonna fix anything that way." Together with the other technicians, Murdoch managed to get the X's cockpit open and Kira immediately climbed up again but was unprepared for what he saw.

"Ryo!" Kira called into the cockpit, "Ryo, are you alright?" The said pilot was slumped over to the right in his seat, his arms draped across his legs and his head hanging limply across his shoulder, only the safety harness kept him up.

"God..." Mu swore and shouted down at the technicians on the floor, "Someone get a medical team in here now!" Although confused, the ground team complied and within minutes, a medical unit had entered the hangar and were climbing the stairs towards their position.

"Okay, please step aside," one of them said, "We'll handle it from here." Kira and Mu reluctantly moved aside to let the medical team lift Ryo from the cockpit after detaching his safety harness and removed his helmet to make it easier for him to breath. It was then that they noticed the small trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth, which was wiped away before he was stripped out of his pilot suit and laid onto a stretcher and then carried off out of the hangar to the infirmary. Kira and Mu hurried off after them before Murdoch and the technicians went back to the floor.

"Alright, people, nothing to see, get back to work!" Murdoch ordered, sending them back to their posts, "It's too early to celebrate now. Hurry up!" Meanwhile, Kira and Mu had followed the medical team to the infirmary, where the doctor was examining Ryo's condition.

"It just doesn't make sense," the doctor sighed, shaking his head, "All of his vital signs are perfectly normal and from what I can tell, he's in top physical shape. The only valid explanation that I can offer is that he had some kind of seizure in the cockpit during the battle as a result of overexcitement or deep emotional distress."

"Will he be alright?"Kira asked, his helmet still under his arm.

"Well, he's in stable condition now," the doctor nodded, "I'd say it'll take no more than a day or so for him to fully recover. He'll be back to piloting in no time at all." Kira nodded and left the infirmary, since he still needed to change out of his flight suit. Mu followed him and the two walked in uncomfortable silence for a bit before Mu decided to speak up.

"You know," he said, "Those guys really didn't mean any harm back there." Kira only walked faster as Mu added, "Everyone thinks of you two as team mates."

"I know..." Kira replied bitterly and Mu frowned before catching up.

"Kira," Mu told him, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "We're not murderers; we're fighting a war here! If you don't shoot first, then you'll be killed! I will, you will, everyone will die!"

"I know that!" Kira snapped, "I know that...but..."

"Then don't hesitate so much!" Mu said sternly, "Or you'll end up dead too!" At Kira's silence, Mu sighed and added, "Look, don't take this the wrong way, alright? I know that you don't like to fight, but..."

"Forget it," Kira replied, "Let's just get changed..."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Dammit!" Yzak swore, pounding his locker door, "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit! DAMMIIIIIT!" The remaining members of the Zala Team were in the locker room, getting changed from the own flight suits. Athrun and Dearka were trying to keep their anger in check but Yzak wasn't having too much success, swearing and pounding on his locker. "GOD DAMMIT!" he shouted again and kicked the door to Nicol's locker by mistake, denting it and causing it to swing open. The sight of Nicol's uniform jacket inside caused his anger to temporarily cease and Dearka too advantage of this to speak to him.

"Yzak..."

"God dammit, Dearka, why the hell did he have to die?" Yzak snarled, his anger returning tenfold as it was before in an instant before turning to Athrun, "And in a place like this too, huh?" At this, Athrun's cool demeanor finally snapped and he grabbed the collar of Yzak's pilot suit and slammed him into the locker.

"Say whatever the hell you want! I know it's my fault!" Athrun snapped with a fury that was completely unlike him, "I know that he died trying to save me! I know I'm incompetent!"

"Athrun!" Dearka frowned, although he was as surprised as Yzak was at the sudden outburst.

"Why you..." Yzak hissed between gritted teeth as he grabbed at Athrun's arm and the said bluenette was surprised when he saw tears welling up in the icy blue eyes he was glaring at.

"Yzak, that's enough," Dearka said, moving between them to prevent any further conflict, "We're not gonna solve anything if you two kill each other before we come up with a plan!" He added after he had pushed them apart, "Right now, we should be focusing on the Strike and that other unit! They're the guys we should be fighting our anger out on! Geez...and people say _I'm_ thick-headed..."

"You think I don't know?" Yzak growled, "Miguel was killed by those two as well...and it's because of them that I got my scar! Next time...next time I see them, I'm gonna maul them both!"With that, he turned and stormed out of the room, still dressed in his flight suit.

"Yzak!" Dearka called out and then turned to Athrun, "Well, Athrun, I guess I'll have to leave you alone for now. I'd better go make sure Yzak doesn't go and sink this piece of trash in his rampage before we get the Legged Ship..."

"Just go, Dearka..." Athrun replied in a dangerous tone and Dearka willingly complied, hurrying off after his friend before he could cause any serious damage. Now alone, Athrun let the tears that he had been hiding build up before he gazed into Nicol's locker, staring at his uniform jacket. Slowly, he opened the locker further and removed the jacket from the hanger, only to have eight pieces of sheet music fall out from it. Athrun immediately recognized it as the same piece that Nicol had played at the concert only a month ago.

-----------------------------------------------------------

_"Oh, hey Athrun...thanks for coming to the concert."_

_-----------------------------_

_"Oh? Are you sure you didn't fall asleep?"_

-----------------------------

_"Although, I wish I could've played something a bit more appropriate..."_

_-----------------------------_

_"I just felt that I had to fight...after hearing about what happened at Junius 7 and all..."_

_-----------------------------------------------------------_

But now, there wouldn't be another recital to fall asleep at or another chance to talk about why they were fighting. There was no more Nicol and the whole truth hit Athrun with the force of all five of the Earth Forces' prototype Mobile Suits crashing down upon him. "God dammit!" he swore, bashing his fist into the locker as he held the jacket close to him, "That...that should have been me who died back there...not you!" He grabbed onto the crossbar above the lockers to keep steady as his knees weakened, "Nicol..." He remembered Kira and Ryo as he said to himself, "It was...it was because...I didn't kill those two when I had the chance...I'll kill them...!"He turned around and sat down with his back against the locker, clutching Nicol's uniform jacket to his chest as if it was the only thing in the world that could possibly bring him comfort. He had always thought that it would end after he lost his mother, Rusty, and then Miguel. But now, he had lost the one person who he could turn to when he needed support.

-----------------------------------------------------------

_"It was the Strike and the other unit…so, will you shoot them down, or will you let them shoot you down?"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

Even as his commander's words echoed in his mind, Athrun looked bitterly at the scattered sheet music that lay on the floor next to him. In an instant, he had made up his mind. His hesitance to shoot down the Strike and X had cost him too many people. Now was the time to put an end to it. "The next time we meet..." he vowed to himself, "I'll destroy those two no matter what!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"I'll take my shift now."

"Alright," Murrue nodded and got up from her seat before letting Natarle sit down in it, "Thank you."

"Have we been able to contact Alaska yet?" Natarle asked as Murrue stood by. The sun had set by now and the Archangel had made good distance from the isle thanks to the Zala Team's withdrawal.

"It's still not possible," Pal replied, "We're too far away from them and due to our situation, we can't risk sending a broadcast to them in case the enemy intercepts the message."

"Well, on the bright side, we should be able to cross the Tropic of Cancer by tomorrow evening if we keep this up," Murrue said, trying to lighten up the situation, "We should be able to establish contact with headquarters then."

"Yes, but Vosgulov-class ships are very fast, especially when submerged,"Natarle replied, adjusting a few controls, "It would be best if we lost them after we cross the borderline."

"Well, they are a squad that we have a lot of history with," Murrue sighed, "They're definitely persistent."

"I actuallyheard that Lieutenant Commander Flaga said that this isn't the Creuset Team," Natarle told her and Murrue was surprised to say the least.

"But then..."

"I don't know much myself," Natarle added, "I just overheard him talking with some of the mechanics."

"I see," Murrue nodded, "By the way, do you know how Ensign Mouri is doing? I heard that he was sent straight to the infirmary immediately after returning."

"I heard too," Natarle said, "He's doing fine now, they said it was just a seizure due to stress."

"I guess that Coordinators aren't that much different from us after all," Murrue replied and Natarle simply nodded. On another part of the ship, Flay was walking through the hallways when she heard noises coming from the cafeteria. Going closer, she discovered that it was just Tolle telling some of the others about his experience.

"Well, I was pretty nervous at first. They started shooting at me the moment I launched," Tolle explained while the other officers and his friends listened intently, "But then again, I had to deal with that kind of thing in the simulation too. It was really pretty much the same thing!"

"But still, you did great out there," Sai smiled as he cleaned one of the lenses on his glasses, "Seriously, Tolle, where did you get the time to learn all that?"

"Well, he's been doing a lot of simulations," Miriallia said, also smiling, "Practice makes perfect as they say."

"You're learning quite a bit too, Sai," Tolle nodded, "Milly's been helping out more often now as well and Kuzzey too."

"Pretty much," Sai agreed, "I guess you can say that we're not really just guests anymore."

"We've become so much more experienced," Miriallia nodded, "But Tolle, you really have to be careful out there. I was so worried when you said you were going out because you"re always so reckless."

"Ah, don't worry about it, I'll be fine!" Tolle replied assuredly, "I'm just there to provide support for Kira and Ryo! You sure do worry a lot, Milly."

"Speaking of which," Sai suddenly said as Flay walked off, "Did you guys hear that Ryo had to go to the infirmary after he came back?"

"What?" Tolle blinked while Miriallia gasped in shock, "I didn't hear anything about this!"

"It's true," Kuzzey nodded, "I heard he had to be carried off in a stretcher after they found him out cold in the cockpit."

"That's awful," Miriallia said worriedly, "I hope he's okay..."

"Come on, Milly, this is Ryo we're talking about!" Tolle smiled, trying to cheer her up, "He always pulls through!" Even as they were talking, Tiffa suddenly stood and made to leave the room.

"Tiffa?" Miriallia asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see him," Tiffa replied, "I need to make sure he's okay..." With that, she left and Miriallia moved to get up but Tolle put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Let her go, it's better if we leave them alone," Tolle explained, "Besides, this might be the moment we've all been waiting to see!" As Miriallia began to understand, Kira was standing inside the hangar, staring at the Strike as it underwent repairs. Even as Birdee hopped around on his shoulder, he remembered the incident on the isle and he sighed.

"Athrun..." he thought and as if it could sense his thoughts, Birdee hopped closer to his face.

"_Birdee!_" it chirped and Kira smiled as it rubbed against his face in a comforting way before he held out his finger and it hopped onto the new perch. He then remembered when Athrun had given Birdee to him, both as a child and back at ORB. "_Birdee!_" it chirped again and Kira gazed up at the Strike, thinking back to his battle with Andrew Waltfield.

-----------------------------------------------------------

_"There's no other way...I'm not gonna stop fighting...until one of us is destroyed!"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Destroy?" he asked himself and Birdee suddenly took off from his finger and flew away, "I...have to destroy you?" He was, of course, referring to Athrun and the vow he had made when he had returned Lacus to him. His hands clenching into fists, he shifted his gaze to the floor and muttered, "So be it, Athrun..." Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Tiffa had gone in and received permission from the doctor to stay with Ryo while he slept to keep him company when he woke up. And so there she was, sitting by his bed side and watching him, not knowing when he would wake up. As she did, however, she noticed an aura of sorrow surrounding him and she slowly reached forward and touched his forehead, as if trying to feel what was wrong. All of a sudden, he started to stir and she hastily drew her hand back, trying to hold back the blush that crept across her cheeks as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Ryo?" she asked timidly, leaning a bit closer to him, "Are you alright?" At first, Ryo was silent, his eyes focused as if trying to remember something. Then, without warning, he shot up into a sitting position with a terrified gasp as if waking up from a nightmare. "Ryo!" Tiffa exclaimed, putting a hand on his arm, "What"s wrong?"

"T-Tiffa...?" Ryo gasped, looking at her with an expression that she didn't recognize from him written all over his face, "It...it was a dream, right Tiffa? Tell me it was all a dream..."

"Ryo..." Tiffa blinked, not understanding a word he was saying, "What...?"

"Tell me it was all just a bad dream..." he repeated, "Tell me...tell me a didn't really kill him..."

"Ryo?" Tiffa asked, becoming concerned, "What are you saying? Who..."

"God dammit, Tiffa!" Ryo suddenly shouted and grabbed her by the arms, startling her, "Tell me it wasn't real! Tell me that I didn't really kill Nicol!" Tiffa, although still in shock that Ryo had just grabbed her like that, was confused as to who he was talking about.

"N-Nicol?" she stammered, shaking a bit out of fear, "Who are you...?"

"The guy I ran into in ORB! The one I hadn't seen in years! The one..." Ryo struggled to say but his voice finally failed him as his hands slipped from her arms and fell limply onto the bed, his hands clenched into tight fists as his body was wracked with heavy sobs.

"Ryo!" Tiffa said, sitting by his side on the bed and took his shoulders, "Ryo, what's wrong? Why are you...?"

"God dammit...it's true, isn't it?" Ryo hissed through his teeth, his head lowered, and gripped the sheets with his hands, "He's...he's gone, isn't he? Nicol's gone...he's gone!"

"Ryo..."

"Don't you get it, Tiffa?"Ryo asked, his face snapping up and Tiffa saw tears streaking from his eyes, which were narrowed in both anger and sorrow, "He's gone! Dead! By my hands! I killed him, Tiffa! I killed...I killed Nicol!" As Tiffa stared at him in shock, he added shakily, "I thought...I thought that it would be over...after my parents...I thought they'd be the last people that I killed who mattered to me! But now...now I've got his blood on my hands too...oh, Tiffa, the humanity of it all! Damn them! Damn all the Mobile Suits that ever were!"

"What's going on in here?" someone asked and Tiffa looked to see Mu and Kira coming into the room, followed by Tolle and the others, "What happened?"

"I-I dont know!" Tiffa stammered, "He woke up and he just started shouting...I don't know what's wrong..."

"What's wrong? What's wrong, you say!" Ryo shouted, "I'll tell you what's freakin' wrong! Nicol's dead! You hear me? Dead! All because I was too stupid to get into his way and stop him..."

"It's my fault too!" Kira interrupted, "Ryo, if I hadn...t maneuvered the Strike like that, then-"

"Shut up!" Ryo snapped, "Don't you dare try to pin this on yourself, Kira!"

"Will you listen to yourself?" Mu frowned as Murrue came in as well, "You"re talking like you just did the most regrettable thing in the world! Look, kid, shit happens, but you've got to be ready for it! This is a war, and you're going to have to kill people sometimes!"

"Well let me tell you something, sir," Ryo replied, "There's a very fine line between killing someone that you don't know...and killing someone that you care about. And Nicol...Nicol was someone I cared for very much...even if he was the pilot of the Blitz..."

"But he was the enemy!" Murrue said, surprised as most of the others.

"He was also my best friend!" Ryo snapped and at this, everyone went quiet with shock, "Nicol...Nicol and I...knew each other for only a few years or so...and even if I didn.t know him for long, he was...he was the kindest person I've ever met!"

"Ryo..."

"Nicol was...Nicol was the guy who would always listen when you had something to say...the guy who would stand up for anyone even if it was against someone bigger...the guy who would help you find whatever the hell it is you lost and wouldn't quit even if it took all day! He was..." He paused a bit, "He was a sensitive guy...the kind that cried easily at that age...but he was nice and never judged people before getting to know them..." Struggling to control himself, he added, "He was...one of the few innocent people in the world...and one of my only friends growing up...and yet I...I..." He stopped again to wipe the tears from eyes only to have them start up again but even as he tried to find his voice, it disappeared and he dissolved into fresh sobs. For a moment, the others glanced at each other nervously, not knowing what to do. It had been months since his last emotional breakdown and they weren't sure of what to do. They had no idea of how to help him but they didn't want to leave him alone either, as they were afraid that he would do something stupid out of depression.

"Look, kid, you can't keep moping around like this forever," Mu told him, "It's not good for you."

"Why should that matter?" Ryo asked bitterly, "Why would you worry about someone like me? If I'm cruel enough to murder my own best friend...then shouldn't I be suffering? Why then, do you want me to fell better about myself? Tell me!"

"Because you're valuable!" Mu said and it took him a second to realize that he couldn't have said anything worse than that. Ryo's eyes contorted from shock and then narrowed themselves in anger while Mu smacked his forehead with his palm and muttered, "Shit...that didn't come out right at all...kid, I didn't mean..."

"No..." Ryo said, lowering his head again, "Don't waste your time apologizing...why apologize to someone that you think of as a tool?"

"Ryo..."

"I joined the Earth Forces because you were all kind to me...and because I wanted to return that kindness," Ryo added, "But now...now I see that you were all just sucking up to me so that I'd do your fighting for you..."

"Ryo..." Murrue finally said, "I'm..."

"Just go..." Ryo interrupted, not looking at any of them, "Leave me alone..." Seeing that it was pointless to try to talk to him, Murrue sighed before ushering everyone out to let Ryo deal with himself. Needless to say, the said pilot spent the next day wallowing in guilt and despair as long as he was awake. It didn't get any better when he slept either, as his nightmares would force him to relive the incident and he would wake up in tears again. Even when he was moved back to his room, he refused to go out or let anyone else go in. Some of the crew members claimed that they heard him talking to himself whenever they passed his door and it looked like it was only a matter of time before Ryo succumbed to madness from sheer grief. Tiffa, who hated to see him in such a way, went to visit whenever she got the chance, even if he wouldn't let her in. Often, she would hear his incessant muttering or the sounds of him pounding whatever happened to be in reach. Finally, though, late in the night, he finally got himself under enough control to let Tiffa in when she next visited.

"Ryo?" she called out, looking around the darkened room, "Ryo, where are you?" She stepped in and flipped the light on only to see numerous dents lining the walls, many with blood-stains in them. "Ryo," Tiffa sighed when she found him sitting in the far corner of his room, "You can"t keep doing this to yourself...everyone's worried..."

"Worried? About me?" Ryo asked and then laughed bitterly, rubbing his scabbed knuckles, "Why worry about a tool? A tool has no feelings and never complains, so why feel sorry for one?"

"Ryo, please!" Tiffa sighed, "I know that you're angry about what Lieutenant Commander Flaga said to you, but he's sorry about it!"

"Of course he is," Ryo said blandly, "He's just sorry that now that I'm mad, I won't fight in earnest anymore..."

"It's not about fighting!" Tiffa replied, "Ryo, you're letting this whole thing get to you too deeply! You can't keep hating the world forever..."

"I don't hate the world," Ryo sighed, "It's the world that seems to hate me instead..."

"Ryo, the world doesn't hate you," Tiffa said gently, putting a hand on his arm, "You have us, right?" At this, Ryo was silent and he turned his face to the ground, not knowing how to respond. "Oh Ryo," Tiffa sighed and pulled him into a hug, "I wish that you'd stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong...not everything's your fault." She pressed her cheek against his a bit and added, "Ryo, I know that it's hard for you but...I don't think Nicol is mad at you for what you did. And I don't think that he wants anyone to brood over this for too long either..."

"...Thanks, Tiffa," Ryo nodded, letting a small smile tug at his lips, "You're right...maybe I should put this behind me...I'll have time to grieve after the war..." Tiffa smiled and held him closer, wanting to make sure that his recovery was full when he next left the room.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Something's come up on the sonar!" an officer on the Cousteau announced, "It's the Legged Ship!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"There's no mistaking it," the officer replied as everyone on the deck turned to him, "It's definitely the ship."

"This are is packed with island chains," the captain said as they went over to look at the screen, "There isn't much room to move around, but this will work to our advantage for now. However, the Tropic of Cancer isalso nearby and if we let them cross it, they'll be in Alaskan airspace. This is our last chace to sink them..."

"You hear that, Strike?" Yzak snarled, 'Today's the day I bury you!"

"I'll get them both," Dearka nodded, "For Nicol and your wound."

"We're going!" Athrun said, "Get ready to attack!" Later, as the sun was coming up, Flay walked through the halls of the Archangel, looking around for Kira. She felt that she still needed to talk to him but first, she would have the find the brunette. She came upon the door to the hangar and went through it, looking down to see Kira sitting in front of the Strike, brooding again. Meanwhile, the Zala team was beginning its final launch preparations for what they hoped to be their last fight against the Archangel.

"Maintaining trimming. Twenty seconds until we surface. Preparing exterior defenses. Arms control online. Sounding the alarm. We're rising! Get ready, everyone!" Even as the Cousteau surfaced, the Archangel's sonar immediately detected it.

"The sensors are reacting to something!" Tonomura announced, "It's a Volsgulov-class submarine!" The alarm was sounded at the same time as the Aegis, Buster, and Duel launched from the Cousteau, boarding their Guuls and flying off towards the Archangel. When they heard this, Kira immediately rushed from the hangar to get changed, Mu, Sai, Tolle, and Miriallia woke up from their naps, and Flay dashed to the lower floor, hoping to catch Kira on the way to the locker room. And that was exactly what happened, Kira and Ryo ran right past her when she was coming out from another hallway.

"Kira!" she called out and the said brunette stopped to look at her and Ryo did the same, "Kira...I..."

"Sorry, Flay, not now," Kira sighed and turned to leave, "We'll talk when I get back, okay?" With that, he gave her a small nod and hurried off, Ryo right beside him. Soon, the three Mobile Suits belonging to the Zala Team appeared out of the sunrise, each pilot itching for a battle.

"Let's go!" Dearka shouted as he combined the Buster's weapons into a long range sniper rifle and fired, "Keep up or be left behind!"

"Three enemy units coming from three o'clock!" Tonomura warned, "Distance is 3000 meters!"

"Heat signatures coming from the east!" Sai added.

"Evade! To port!" Murrue ordered and Neumann veered the ship over to the left to avoid the shot, causing it to pass harmlessly into the water.

"Load all aft missile launchers with the Wombats!" Natarle ordered, "Deploy the Valiant and Igelstellung guns!" As the said weapons moved into position, she added, "What's the status of Lieutenant Commander Flaga and Ensigns Yamato and Mouri?"

"Lieutenant Commander Flaga is getting ready as we speak," Miriallia replied even as Mu's Skygrasper taxied onto the runway, Launcher pack equipped, "Kira and Ryo have already left."

"Dammit, I knew that this wasn't going to end with that, but..." Mu sighed even as the airlock closed behind him.

"Skygrasper 1, la Flaga unit, prepare for takeoff!" Miriallia said, "Strike and X are standing by at the hull!"

"Kira, Ryo!" Mu called out as he sealed his helmet's visor.

"Sir?"

"You sure you guys are okay?" he asked as the catapult door opened.

"We'll be fine," Kira replied as the Strike with its Aile pack and the X landed on the hull.

"Ryo?"

"Don't worry about it," Ryo said nonchalantly, "What's done is done...no use crying over spilled milk..." Meanwhile, the Zala team was steadily closing in, with Dearka firing shot after shot.

"Die, god dammit!" Yzak shouted as he fired the Duel's beam rifle while Athrun did the same with the Aegis.

"Valiants, Wombats, fire!" Natarle called out and the Archangel's linear guns shot at the Mobile Suits while the rear missile launchers fired their payload as well. One missile hit the Duel but it emerged from the explosion unscathed thanks to its armor. On the hull, the Strike and X traded fire with the Aegis while the Buster maneuvered around them and managed to land a hit on the Archangel's side.

"I'm gonna shoot them all down today!" Mu shouted as he charged the Buster, "No matter what!" With that, he fired the Agni impulse rifle, which the Buster dodged before it shot at the Skygrasper with hits gun-launcher. Inside, Flay struggled to return to her room even as the ship rocked with every shot it made and took. Soon, dark storm clouds began to accumulate in the sky, foreshadowing heavy rain. This, however, was ignored by the combatants as the Aegis shot at the Strike and X. The Strike blocked both shots and then both units took to the air to engage the enemy up close. Seeing this, Yzak charged forward and fired the Duel's Shiva rail cannon and fired its missiles. The Strike and X slowed down and let the missiles detonate in front of them before they flew from the smoke and fired at the Duel. Athrun came up in the Aegis and fired its beam rifle, forcing the Strike to block with its shield again.

"Fire Helldarts!" Natarle ordered.

"That's not gonna cut it with me!" Dearka smirked and used the Buster's anti-armor shotgun to shoot down the incoming missiles.

"It's over!" Mu shouted, firing the Agni as he went.

"Dammit, why don't you just..." Dearka snarled as he dodged, "Die already?" Buster opened up its own missile pods and fired at the Skygrasper, which was about to turn for another run.

"Damn!" Mu swore and pulled the Skygrasper into a dive as the missiles followed it. Just before he hit the water, he pulled up again and the missiles, unable to keep up, detonated on the surface. Meanwhile, the Archangel was starting to take some heavy fire as missiles detonated on its hull and the Aegis destroyed two of its Igelstellung guns before the ship took a direct hit to the Helldart launcher, causing an explosion just behind the bridge. Sparks flew in the said room for a bit and Flay, who had managed to reach her room by now, dove into bed and buried her head under her pillow.

"Kira..."

"Igelstellungs four and five have been destroyed!" Sai warned.

"Helldart launching tubes are offline!" Chandra added.

"What about Alaska?" Murrue asked, "Any word from them?"

"Nothing!" Kuzzey replied, "There's no reply!"

"Aim Gottfrieds! Make sure we get them this time!" Natarle said, "Fire!" The Archangel's main cannons shot at the Aegis, which managed to dodge just in time even as the Strike, now back on the hull, shot at the Duel.

"I'll never forgive you!" Yzak shouted as the Duel charged, drawing its saber. Seeing this, the Strike put down its rifle and took to the sky, drawing its own saber. In a matter of moments, it was caught in a fierce deadlock against the Duel and neither seemed to have the advantage. "Bastard!""Yzak snarled, "I'll get you for sure!" Meanwhile, the Aegis had leaped from its Guul and was plummeting straight down for the Archangel.

"Aegis is approaching!" Tonomura warned, "It's right above us!"

"What?" Natarle exclaimed even as the Aegis transformed into Mobile Armor mode and fired its Scylla cannon.

"Evade!" Murrue called out and Neumann just barely managed to pull the ship to the side. However, the blast still managed to pierce the port Valiant gun and blew it clean off of the ship, shaking the bridge and causing sparks to fly again. It then transformed back into Mobile Suit mode and managed to dock with its Guul again as it flew by.

"Plasma burner down! Levitator is also down!" Neumann warned, "I can't...maintain our lift!"

"If we fall into the water, their submarine will hit us with torpedoes," Murrue said, "Keep us up in the air as long as you can!"

"Connect the emergency power to our alternate levitator!" Natarle added, "We've got to make it to land!"

"I'm gonna go out in the Skygrasper!" Tolle suddenly said, getting up from his seat.

"Tolle?" Miriallia muttered as everyone else looked up in surprise.

"We'll be shot down if this keeps up!" Tolle added, "I'm going out to help!"

"Wait, Crewman Koenig!" Murrue called out but before she could finish, another hit cut her off as the bridge shook again. Outside, the Strike had come back down to retrieve its beam rifle and then flew off to engage the Duel again.

"Dammit..." Kira swore as he fired the Strike's Igelstellung guns and then shot at the Duel with its beam rifle. The Duel, however, jumped from its Guul to avoid it and Kira found himself face to face with it.

"Bastard!" Yzak shouted and then the Duel landed a savage kick on the Strike's shield, sending it falling down ward. Kira managed to use the Aile Striker pack to right himself and took aim while Ryo did the same off in the distance. As soon as the Duel had docked with its Guul again, both of them fired and managed to hit the Duel in both legs. "What the...no!" Yzak swore as the Duel plummeted towards the ocean, "Why do you guys always do that?" With that, he managed to turn the Duel over so that it was facing and fired several rounds from the Shiva rail cannon, managing to destroy the Strike's beam rifle with a lucky shot. At that moment, the Aegis appeared, firing its beam rifle.

"Kira!" Athrun shouted, "Ryo!" Upon hearing this, the Strike and X both flew towards the Aegis, dodging and blocking shots as they went. Then, in a surprise move, the Aegis jumped from its Guul and shot it, the resulting shockwave sending the Strike flying. Meanwhile, Tolle was getting ready to launch in his Skygrasper, although he chose not to take any equipment with him.

"Don't get reckless out there, you hear?" Murdoch reminded him.

"I'll be fine, don't worry!" Tolle replied assuredly and launched, thinking to himself as he was pushed back into his seat, 'Hmm...still have to get used to that..." Outside, a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky as the Strike crashed into the ground, startling several birds from their perches as the Aegis descended, its saber drawn. With a cry, Aegis swung down, only to have the blow blocked by the Strike as another lightning bolt flashed. The two broke the deadlock as the X came flying down with its rifle out and the Strike drew its saber and dodged a second blow from a charging Aegis before swinging. The Aegis dodged and fired its Igelstellung guns as the Strike charged and the X shot at it with its beam rifle. As the Aegis passed by, it slashed again and the Strike was forced to block, letting it pass by. If any of them had been willing to take a moment to take a glance at the land, they would have noticed that it was inhabited by a single cottage. This building belonged to one Reverend Malchio, a blind priest who lived with and cared for children who had been orphaned by the war. At the moment, he was busy calming down the children, who were frightened by the lightning but had they seen the battle raging off in the distance, they would have really had something to worry about. Meanwhile, the Archangel was beginning to lose altitude quickly and Neumann was doing all that he could to keep the ship in the air until they could make it to land.

"What the hell are you doing?" Murdoch shouted in the engine room, helping several technicians were busy fighting a fire that had broken out in there, "Hurry up with that fire!"

"I can't keep her up much longer!" Neumann grunted.

"We"re bringing her down!" Murrue announced, "All hands, brace for impact!"

"Buster approaching at two o'clock!" Sai warned.

"Aim Gottfrieds and Valiant 2!" Natarle ordered and at that, the Archangel finally made landfall, skidding across the ground until the trees finally stopped its momentum. It was then that the Buster, which had been hot on its tail, showed up and aimed its weapons.

"Sitting duck," Dearka grinned but all of a sudden, Mu's Skygrasper appeared again to challenge him.

"Not so fast, hotshot!" Mu shouted and fired the Skygrasper's beam cannon, managing to hit the engine of the Buster's Guul.

"Damn!" Dearka swore and the Buster jumped before its Guul exploded before firing its anti-armor shotgun. Mu dodged the first shot and managed to fire the Agni once before a second hit his Skygrasper's left wing, forcing him to make an emergency landing on the shore. However, his shot tore through the Buster's right arm and sent it crashing into the ground, its Phase Shift Armor still active. "Ugh...hydraulics are knocked out...pulse levels decreasing...shit..." Dearka muttered before he looked up when his radar began reacting. To his shock, he saw that both of the Archangel's Gottfried cannons were aimed right at him and now he found himself in a tight spot. "Crap...they've got me in their sights..." he thought to himself a cold trickle of sweat ran down his face, "Well...only one thing left to do..." With that, he took off his helmet, opened his cockpit, and then stepped out of it with his hands in the air.

"Is he surrendering?" Natarle blinked as the rest of the bridge crew looked on in surprise. As Dearka waited for his fate, the battle between the Strike, X, and Aegis raged on as Kira and Ryo attacked an angry Athrun again and again.

"Kira!" Athrun shouted and swung at the Strike which was closest. Kira responded by swinging his own beam saber and the X shifted its rifle into a shield as it drew its oversized saber. The Strike intercepted the Aegis' blow with its saber while the latter blocked the X's attack with its shield. "How could you guys do it?" Athrun asked bitterly as he backed off and broke the deadlock, "You murdered Nicol!" He transformed the Aegis into Mobile Armor mode and charged the Scylla cannon, aiming at the other two.

"You think I don't regret it, Athrun?" Ryo shot back, "Nicol was my friend too! How do you think I felt after I had to kill him?" Normally, Athrun would have stopped to think about this but his anger clouded his reasoning and he relentlessly fired before shifting back into Mobile Suit mode.

"Kira! Ryo!" a familiar voice called out from the Strike's and X's speakers and their respective pilots looked to see a Skygrasper approaching, firing its beam cannon as it charged the Aegis.

"Tolle..." Kira gaped, "Tolle, no! Stay back!"

"This is..." Ryo blinked as realization dawned on him, "This is...just like my other dream..." As he muttered this, Tolle fired a missile at the Aegis, which dodged."As the Aegis drew its arm back, Ryo saw what it was about to do and he shouted, "Tolle, you idiot! Fall back and get the hell out there!" As Tolle looked at the X in confusion, the Aegis whipped its arm around, flinging its shield at the Skygrasper. Tolle only had enough time to give a nervous laugh as the shield closed in on him and Kira and Ryo could only watch helplessly as the sharp point of the Aegis' shield smashed into the cockpit where Tolle was sitting, causing the craft to explode.

"No..." Kira muttered as he watched the fireball spread in the sky above, "No...no, no! TOOOOLLE!" Even as he cried out, Miriallia's screen, which was monitoring the status of the Archangel's Mobile Suits and fighters, suddenly changed to say "Signal Lost" where the information on Tolle's had been. When she saw this, Miriallia blinked, a feeling of foreboding settling into the pit of her stomach. Outside, the Strike and X stood before the Aegis, both with their sabers drawn and the latter with both of its arm sabers ignited. Kira's mind immediately went blank as a purple seed drifted down and shattered against and invisible surface, his eyes dulling and his vision sharpening at the same time. Ryo, however, had a different reaction. The sight of his friend's death caused the last remaining chords of sanity left in his mind to snap and in his minds eye, a pitch black seed spiraled once and burst in a rainbow of color as he finally lost all restraint and charged with the Strike nearby.

"Athrun!" Kira shouted, still having some control over his actions and shoved the Aegis' saber arm aside with its shield and then severed its left arm from the body. The Strike moved as the X came flying down, its foot smashing into the Aegis' head and denting its faceplate as it was sent plummeting to the ground. Athrun managed to get the Aegis upright just in time and the Aegis took to the air again.

"I'm gonna..." Athrun snarled as the Strike and X both approached, his own anger reaching its peak as his battery slowly wound down, "KILL YOU!" With that, he ignited the sabers in the Aegis' feet and delivered a kick at the Strike, severing its shield arm. At that moment, the X came up and stabbed right through the hole in the Strike shield with inhuman precision, impaling the Aegis' head on its oversized beam saber and tearing it from its body. Aegis responded with a kick that cut a gash into the Strike's cockpit hatch, leaving a large hole there, and then maneuvered around and severed the Satellite Cannon from the X's back, the resulting explosion sending the X hurtling into the trees below, with lightning flashing with every blow.

"ATHRUUUUN!" Kira shouted, charging up to meet the Aegis.

"KIRAAAAA!" Athrun snarled and shifted the Aegis into Mobile Armor mode, latching onto the Strike with its claw and holding it in place. Kira cringed as the barrel of the Scylla Cannon that he was staring at began to glow as it charged up but all of a sudden, the glow faded. Much to Kira's fortune, the Aegis' battery had finally been exhausted by the battle and shut down, deactivating the Phase Shift Armor as well. Still crazed with the lust for revenge and faced with only one option to destroy his new nemesis as the Strike struggled to break free, Athrun opened a hatch at the front of the armrest and punched in the code 2880. The screen immediately changed into a timer that began to count down as Athrun opened the hatch of the Aegis and used his emergency pack to fly off as Kira watched, suddenly realizing what was about to happen and recoiled in shock. Just then, the X burst from the trees, its saber in hand and charging at where the Strike stood trapped by the Aegis.

"Kira!" Ryo shouted, suddenly back to his normal self and in one movement, swung down with the saber at where the Aegis's claw attached to its body. Moments later, the Aegis flashed brilliantly before erupting into a massive fireball, the light consuming everything in its path as flames erupted from where the explosion took place and the shockwave pushed the fleeing Athrun farther off.

"Skygrasper 2, do you read me?" Miriallia called out from the Archangel when the signals of the Strike and X were both lost simultaneously, "Come in, Strike and X, do you read me? Tolle, Kira, Ryo, what's going on? Do you read me! Kira? Ryo? Tolle!"

Phase 30: End

Author's note: I won't be updating until later, as I'll be on a trip for a while, so the next chapter will be late.

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Yes, the Double X will appear eventually. As for how and what it eventually does, you'll have to wait and see.


	32. Grieving Skies

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 31: Grieving Skies

_April 17, C.E. 71, Marshall Islands, Earth_

"Kira! Ryo! Do you read me? Answer me!" Miriallia called out as the rest of the bridge crew waited anxiously, many with their breath held, "Tolle, what's going on out there? Tolle!" When no answer came, she called out again, "Kira! Tolle! Ryo?"

"What was that explosion just now?" Mu asked from the dock, where his Skygrasper had been brought in. The response wasn't a good one.

"We're not sure," Murrue replied worriedly, "But we've lost contact with the Strike, X, and Skygrasper 2."

"Kira! Kira! Answer me!" Miriallia said, now almost frantic, "Tolle! Tolle! Ryo!" Just then, someone reached down and switched off the comm. and she looked to see Natarle reaching over her seat.

"That's enough," Natarle frowned and then turned to Murrue, "Captain, what's the damage status of the ship? If we stay here, we won't be able to solve anything."

"I'm not sure," Murrue answered and turned to a view screen, "Chief Petty Officer Murdoch?"

"It's not as bad as we thought. Even if it's a temporary fix, we should be able to get about 40 of our power back!" Murdoch replied from the engine room, the flames now extinguished, "We'll be able to take off as soon as the booster-bracket's welded on!" Meanwhile, in one of the hallways, two officers were leading a rather irritated Dearka along at gun-point, the said pilot wincing and stumbling every now and then. In the dock, the damaged Buster was being loaded in as well.

"Are we seriously taking this with us?" one of the technicians asked.

"We might as well, it was ours to begin with anyway," another replied, "Besides, it's better than leaving it here for ZAFT to retrieve instead." Back on the bridge, everyone was still waiting for a status report when suddenly, the radar acted up again.

"The radar's detecting heat signatures!" Kuzzey warned, "Three of them! At six o'clock!"

"They're Dinns!" Tonomura added, "Estimated time of arrival…fifteen minutes!" Even as this was said, three Dinns made their way across the waters, speeding towards the downed ship.

"Prepare to engage!" Murrue hastily ordered but Natarle stepped in.

"Captain, that's impossible!" Natarle said, "Our best course of action is to retreat and continue on towards Alaska! This is still ZAFT territory, it's too dangerous to stay here!"

"Wait a minute!" Miriallia exclaimed, turning her chair around, "What about Kira, Ryo, and Tolle? We can't leave without…"

"We've already lost most of our power! Half of our weapons aren't operational either!" Natarle snapped, growing irritated, "And now that we can't rely on the protection of either of our Skygraspers or the Strike and X, we won't last ten minutes against three Dinns!" Hearing this, Miriallia turned the comm. on again and tried to contact the missing pilots once more.

"Kira! Ryo, can you hear me?" she asked, "Tolle, all of you, come back! Dinns are-!" At this, she was cut off again when Natarle turned the comm. off.

"I said that's enough!" Natarle frowned and then added somewhat shakily, "Ensigns Yamato and Mouri along with Crewman Second Class Koenig will all have to be marked as MIA. You know this too…" Miriallia thought for a moment and then remembered that the term meant the designated people were considered dead, as they had marked Cagalli and Ryo that when they went missing. But then again, they had both returned safely that time. No one was too sure about this time.

"No…" Miriallia gaped, refusing the accept the truth, "No way…they can't…"

"You'll have to accept it," Natarle said, although no one picked up the regret in her tone, "If you can't…then you may be the next ones to go…"

"Dinns are approaching!" Tonomura warned, "They'll be here in eleven minutes!"

"Lies…" Miriallia muttered even as Natarle sat down again, "They can't be…" With that, she got up out of her own seat and climbed out of the CIC.

"Milly!" Sai called out after her, "What're you…"

"Power's back online!" Neumann announced from the front.

"Prepare for takeoff!" Murrue ordered, "Engines at full power!"

"Liftoff!" Neumann echoed, "Full speed ahead!"

"Where were the Strike, X, and Skygrasper 2 last located?" Murrue asked.

"On one of the nearby islands," Chandra replied, "Approximately seven o'clock!"

"Captain, you can't possibly be thinking of going back there!" Natarle said, "When those Dinns arrive…"

"I know!" Murrue frowned, "Lieutenant Commander, what about your unit?"

"Repairs aren't done," Mu replied on the view screen on her arm-rest, "I can't go back out yet!"

"Captain, we'll be shot down if we don't retreat!" Natarle reminded her again.

"But…" Sai said, "What if those three managed to escape? They might be alive out there somewhere!" Natarle frowned at this and kept quiet.

"Have we made contact with headquarters yet?" Murrue asked again.

"There's still no response!" Kuzzey replied.

"Captain!" Natarle was almost shouting now, "Are you going to sacrifice the entire crew for the sake of three people who may not even be alive?"

"Keep trying to establish contact," Murrue said, trying to ignore Natarle, even though her fist was now clenched, "Also…send the last known coordinates of our missing units to the ORB Union."

"ORB?"

"I'll ask them to organize a search party, that's all," Murrue explained, "I'm sure they'll do it."

"But that country is…"

"I know!" Murrue snapped, "I'll take responsibility for it, Lieutenant Badgiruel!"

"Dinns approaching!" Tonomura interrupted, "Distance 8000!"

"Engines to maximum!" Murrue ordered, "Our main priority now is to withdraw from the area and continue on towards Alaska!" The Archangel's engines burst with renewed vigor as the ship sped away, leaving the island behind.

"This can't be…" Miriallia thought even as the hallways rocked in a way that forced her to hold onto the walls for support, "It can't…Tolle…" Even as Miriallia wallowed about in her denial, Flay was in the safety of her own room, waiting for Kira to come back so that she could talk to him.

"Kira…" And in the dock, Mu was watching over the repairs of his Skygrasper when the floor started to move again.

"Are we withdrawing?" Mu wondered out loud, "But what about…?" His thoughts drifted off when he noticed Miriallia wandering in. The said brunette plodded along through the dock until her eyes, now threatening to shed tears, fell upon the empty Skygrasper simulation. A sense of blind hope came upon her and she rushed over to it, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Tolle would be sitting there in that seat. "Hey!" Mu called out as she ran before going after her.

"Tolle?" Miriallia asked when she reached the simulator, peering around to see an empty seat.

"Hey, miss…" Mu blinked when he came up to her, "Are you…"

"Tolle?" Miriallia repeated, looking at him with her tears falling, "It's not true…he can't be dead…there's no…" Her voice cracked even as realization sank in, "Because…because he…" At this, her resolve shattered into pieces as she sank to her knees in grief, wailing for her loss. Mu, greatly moved by this, reached down to comfort her but then his own grief stopped his hand and it clenched into a fist instead.

"God dammit!" he swore and slammed it into the Skygrasper simulator, which was the closest thing within his reach.

"Milly?" someone asked timidly, "Lieutenant Commander? What happened?" The two looked up to see Tiffa looking at them, worry etched into her features, "I came here when I felt the ship start to move again, but I can't find the Strike or X. Did something happen?" Miriallia stared at her a bit before breaking down again, clinging onto Tiffa's skirt as she did. "M-Milly!" Tiffa exclaimed, kneeling down beside her friend, "What…?"

"It's not…it's not true!" Milly sobbed, "He can't be gone! He's not dead!" Tiffa was taken back a bit when she glanced around and saw that they were also missing a Skygrasper. Putting two and two together, realization dawned upon her and she looked at Mu for confirmation.

"They've been marked MIA," Mu explained with a sigh, "All of them…we might never see them again…"

"A-all of them?" Tiffa stammered, "Kira too? And…and Ryo?" When Mu nodded, Tiffa felt her strength give way and she unconsciously slipped into a sitting position, her legs folded beneath her. "Ryo…" she muttered, "Ryo's…gone?" Meanwhile, far away, a pair of planes departed from ORB's Onogoro Island to the Marshall Islands, having received the message from the Archangel. Aboard one of them, Cagalli sat by the window, watching the clouds begin to clear.

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"Captain!" Yzak called out as he entered the Cousteau's bridge, a bandage wrapped around his head, "What the hell happened out there?"

"Ah, Yzak," the captain said, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Where are Athrun and Dearka? Isn't the Legged Ship moving?" Yzak demanded, ignoring the question, "What's the situation out there?"

"Both of them have gone missing," the captain replied, much to Yzak's surprise.

"Missing?" Yzak asked, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"We're not too sure ourselves," the captain told him, "First we lost contact with the Buster. Shortly afterward, we confirmed a massive explosion before losing contact with the Aegis as well."

"What about distress calls?" Yzak frowned, now growing a bit concerned, which happened rather rarely for him.

"Nothing from either of them. We've been trying to make contact for over an hour now…"

"Then what about the Strike and the Legged Ship?" Yzak asked, really starting to worry now, "Why aren't we going after them?"

"The Bozeman Team is taking care of that," the captain said calmly, "They've already sent a Mobile Suit team in pursuit."

"This is absurd!" Yzak exclaimed, "Turn this ship around right now!"

"But those two…"

"Those two wouldn't have gone down so easily!" Yzak snapped and then pointed to his own uniform, "You think they wear the red uniform with me for nothing? We're the pride of the ZAFT army! We have to go back!"

"If you really are that good, then shouldn't your decisions also be cold-hearted?"

"Say whatever the hell you want!" Yzak snarled and turned to leave, "I'm gonna go and look for them myself!" What Yzak didn't know was that the Duel was still undergoing repairs from their last skirmish and wouldn't be much help. Even he had, though, it wouldn't have stopped him from going.

"We've received an order to return to Carpentaria from Commander Creuset as well," the captain added, stopping Yzak in his tracks, "Besides, we don't have enough fighting strength to deal with them this close to Alaskan airspace. Another squad will conduct the rescue mission."

"Crap…" Yzak muttered, "Can this day get any worse?"

"We've also received word," the captain said, "That ORB is moving as well. Do you understand now?"

"…Dammit!" Yzak swore, "I just _had_ to open my mouth!"

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The next day, the rescue team arrived at the deserted battle-field, only to find a scene of complete post-chaos. Pieces of debris littered the sand everywhere, some pieces more distinguishable than others. The Aegis' left fore-arm lay, the tip of its middle finger missing, while its head lay half-submerged on the shore-line, a gaping hole where its right eye-piece used to be, the face-plate smashed in, and it's v-fin almost gone. "What a mess," Kisaka remarked as he followed her, "It looks like that one self-destructed. That must be why the Strike and the other unit…" He trailed off when they saw the two said Mobile Suits. The Strike was on its back, propped up by its horribly mangled Aile Striker pack, and its left arm was lying a few feet away with the ring finger missing. Nearby, the X lay on its front right, both forearms missing and the wings and Satellite Cannon gone as well. The green panel in front of its cockpit segment was completely gone and in short, it looked in much worse condition than the Strike, the patterns melted into its armor suggesting that it had taken the brunt of a large explosion to the side. However, had Cagalli not been so caught up in distress, she would have noticed that upon closer inspection, the X's cockpit was mysteriously open…and empty.

"This…this is…" Cagalli muttered, putting a hand on the Aile Striker pack before climbing up the Strike's left side-skirt armor.

"Cagalli! Wait!" Kisaka called out but the blonde ignored him and pushed past the two team members standing in front of the cockpit to get a look. When she saw it, however, she drew back in horror, her amber eyes widening at the sight. The hatch had been sliced open, most likely by a beam weapon, and the interior of the cockpit was completely melted, seat and controls alike.

"Kira…" Cagalli gaped as she stared, even as Kisaka came up behind her.

"Cagalli…"

"He's…he's not in there!" she exclaimed, looking around frantically, "What happened to his body? Did it get thrown out? No…maybe…maybe he got out alive somehow…" With that, she leaped off of the Strike and landed feet-first on the sand, intending to comb the entire area.

"Cagalli! Stop!"

"Colonel Kisaka! Over here!" one of the members suddenly called out and Cagalli looked to see a group of them gathered around something.

"Kira?" Cagalli muttered before dashing over to the group, pushing through them to see, "Kira!" What she saw, however, wasn't Kira at all, but a ZAFT pilot washed up onto the shore. Looking at his face, which was visible thanks to the fact that his visor was shattered, she saw familiar strands of blue hair leaking across his face. And then, as if struck by a lightning bolt, she remembered. "A-Athrun…?"

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It was many hours later when Athrun started to regain his senses. The first thing that he noticed when he opened his eyes was that where ever he was, it was very bright and he had to squint to shield his eyes from the light. Glancing down at himself, he noticed for the first time that his left arm was draped across his chest in a sling and that his pilot suit was gone. He tried lifting it, but let it drop again when doing so resulted in a sharp pain running through the limb. Deciding that remaining sitting wouldn't help much, he used his good arm to support his weight as he slowly sat up, minding not to move his injured arm too much. "I see you're awake," someone said to him and he looked to see someone approaching him from the shadows, "Currently, you're on board an ORB aircraft. We brought you here after we found you lying on the beach." Focusing his eyes, he saw that it was none other than Cagalli but there were too things about her that unsettled him. The first was the look on her face, the second was the loaded gun in her hand as she walked over to him.

"ORB?" Athrun asked, sitting up all the way, "What does a neutral nation like ORB want with me?" He then added in a slightly joking manner, "Or…am I in the hands of the Earth Forces now?" Cagalli didn't find this funny at all and pointed the gun at him in a warning way.

"There's something I need to know," she said as Athrun gingerly plucked a tube out of his arm and rubbed the sore spot, "Were you the one who destroyed the Strike and X?" At this, Athrun paused in surprise and lowered his arms.

"Yeah," he nodded hesitantly, "It was me."

"What happened to the pilots? Did they escape like you did? Eject? Or are they…" Cagalli paused, not wanting to say what she was dreading, "We couldn't find Kira or Ryo, anywhere!" When Athrun didn't respond, she added angrily, "Say something, dammit!" Athrun was silent for a bit again before looking up at her.

"They're both gone…" he told her before letting his face fall again with a small smirk, "Because I killed them…" At this, Cagalli nearly lost her grip on her weapon but held on as Athrun continued, "That's right, I did it. I trapped the Strike with my Aegis, and then blew it up before the X could cut it loose. I don't see how either of them could have survived." Cagalli's shock turned into fury as she gripped Athrun's collar with her free hand and held the gun to his throat with the other as he added, "It was the only option left for me…to destroy them…" At this, Cagalli's lessened a bit until it returned in full force when she saw Athrun start to shed tears, at which she shoved him back down onto the bed, still grabbing his collar.

"You bastard!" she screamed, pointing the gun at his face, although her emotions caused her hand to shake uncontrollably and she was unable to think straight. Finally, she pushed him down and then rushed over to the adjacent wall and slammed her fist into it, "Dammit! Dammit!" While she was lamenting, Athrun sat back up and looked down at his hands.

"But then…why am _I_ still alive?" Athrun wondered out loud as Cagalli looked back at him infuriated, "Is it because I managed to get out just in time?" At that moment, Cagalli wheeled around and pointed the gun at him again and he added when he saw this, "Or maybe…it was destiny all along for you to kill me…"

"Kira…took too many risks…didn't always think things through and he always cried!" Cagalli exclaimed, ignoring the tears sliding down her face, "And Ryo…Ryo always blamed himself for everything…and he's act like a real ass sometimes! But they were both kind…they were both good people!" Athrun's reply, however, was not what she was expecting.

"Yeah, I know…" Athrun smiled, leaning against the wall as Cagalli's expression softened from surprise, "Sounds like those guys…hadn't changed a bit…they were always like that…"

"Athrun…?"

"Kira was always a sentimental crybaby…and he was smart, but he was too lazy to really think things through," Athrun continued, "And Ryo acted brash to hide his real feelings…and always took things too seriously…"

"Did you really know them?" Cagalli asked, now more curious than upset.

"Yes…we were…close…" Athrun smiled, "I knew Ryo because our fathers were good friends, and so I was his friend too…and then after I went to Copernicus, I met Kira there. Since we were kids, we've always been friends…the best of friends…"

"But then…that's crazy!" Cagalli exclaimed, now angry again as she held up her gun and got closer, "If you were such good friends, then why the hell would you kill them like that?" At this, Athrun paused, not because of the look in Cagalli's eyes, but because realization was starting to dawn on him now.

"I…I don't know…" he stammered and then cried, "I don't have any idea why either, okay?" As Cagalli looked on, he added, "We separated as friends…and then the next time I saw them, they were enemies…"

"Enemies…?"

"I asked Kira to come with us over and over again!" Athrun continued, "He was a Coordinator, one of us! That was where he belonged! Don't you get it? It wasn't right for him to be in the Earth Forces!"

"You…"

"But whenever we talked, he wouldn't listen!" Athrun said, "They fought against us, even killing friends of mine! And then…and then they killed Nicol!"

"And so…you killed Kira and Ryo?" Cagalli asked, "Your friends?"

"They were my enemies; they weren't on my side anymore!" Athrun replied bitterly, "I had no other choice but to kill them!"

"You idiot! How could you come up with something so stupid?" Cagalli demanded, pinning him against the wall, "How could you do something so horrible?"

"They killed Nicol right in front of my eyes!" Athrun argued, "Nicol was only fifteen…he loved the piano! He only fought to protect PLANT and they killed him!"

"The reason why Kira and Ryo fought was to protect their friends!" Cagalli retorted, "But that doesn't mean that they had to be killed! And at the hands of their best friend of all people!"

"Tell that to Nicol!" Athrun shouted, his own tears starting to escape, "Ryo was the one who killed him…and those two were best friends too! How do you justify that?"

"Ugh, you moron!" Cagalli sobbed, "Someone gets killed for killing another…and then that guy gets killed for killing him…how's that twisted sort of thing ever going to bring peace? Well?" Even as the two wept for their friends, the sun was setting outside as the Strike was loaded up into the second aircraft. On the beach, the search party was still combing around for any signs of the missing pilots, having so far had no luck. Finally, as night fell, they were forced to pack up and leave, having found not one trace of them.

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Later, the Archangel was peacefully gliding through the waters when a squadron of planes flew over head. Inside, it was eerily quiet in the dock, the only exception being the slow taps of keys coming from Mu's Skygrasper as he worked on it. Everyone was in low spirits, especially Miriallia, who still had fresh tears in her eyes. In Kira's room, Flay had fallen asleep in the said pilot's chair, having waited for a long while as Birdee flitted around, also waiting for its master. When dawn came, a second squadron flew overhead and relayed a message. "Incoming transmission from Blue Leader of this garrison!" Kuzzey announced, "They're telling us to keep going and that they'll cover us!"

"Reply with a thank you," Murrue nodded.

"Hey, what's this?" Kuzzey suddenly added, "It's…a registration request from the 18th Radar site!"

"Well, this is our first time docking in Alaska," Murrue smiled, "Send our data over, there shouldn't be any problems."

"I'm just glad that that garrison got here," Tonomura remarked down below, "If they got here a moment later, we would've been done for."

"But still," Sai replied, turning his seat, "Don't you think the Dinns retreated a bit too quickly?"

"It's nothing unusual," Chandra said, "I doubt that they would've wanted to get into a fight in Alaskan airspace."

"Is Alaska really that…"

"Alright, that's quite enough. How long are you planning on slacking off?" Natarle asked curtly, "We're still on Level 2 Battle Stations."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Murrue said sheepishly, "I guess it's not a problem now. The second shift can take a break."

"Cancel Level 2 Battle Stations!" Pal said into the speakers, "The second shift may now take a break!"

"Hey, Captain!" someone said from Murrue's seat-view screen.

"Yes?" Murrue blinked, turning to see Murdoch on the screen, "Is there a problem?"

"You bet there is! This guy's completely lost it!" Murdoch complained, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, "You've got to talk some sense into Lieutenant Commander Flaga, Captain! He keeps bugging us to fix his unit so that he can go look for the kids!"

"Alright, I'll be right down," Murrue nodded and killed the connection, "Lieutenant Badgiruel, please take charge until I get back." Natarle agreed and Murrue hurried off out of the bridge. Meanwhile, Mu was standing beneath the Skygrasper and trying to get some of the others to give him a hand, his uniform unbuttoned and hanging loosely.

"Come on, guys, I'm asking nicely, now…" he said but was interrupted when someone called out to him.

"Lieutenant Commander!" the voice said and he turned to see Murrue hurrying over to him, "I can't give you permission to go out! Please let the maintenance crew rest for a while."

"We haven't gotten any word from ORB yet, have we?" Mu asked, turning back to his work.

"No, but…"

"The ship will be fine now that we've entered Alaskan airspace," Mu said, "It shouldn't be too much of a problem if I head out for a while."

"No, I can't allow it…"

"Then what are we gonna do?" Mu snapped, rounding on her, "What if those three did somehow make it? They'll be stranded there without adequate supplies!"

"I know!" Murrue said, her voice trembling, "I want to go look for them too…but right now, we can't!"

"Captain…"

"In our current situation, I can't let you go out on your own," Murrue continued, "If you were to not return, then I'd…" She trailed off, suddenly realizing what she had just said and added, "For now, we'll have to trust ORB to look for Kira, Ryo, and Tolle. Please stay here until then." Mu looked about ready to speak again but then desisted when he saw her expression.

"Roger," he nodded and patted her shoulder. Meanwhile, Sai was walking back to the room he shared with the others to check on Milly, when he heard someone behind him.

"Crewman Argyle," Natarle said, coming up behind him with a few boxes in her hands before handing them to him, "I want you to clear out the belongings of Ensigns Yamato and Mouri as well as those of Crewman 2nd Class Koenig."

"Their belongings?" Sai blinked, looking at the boxes in his hands, "But Lieutenant Badgiruel, it's too soon to assume anything!"

"The Captain has already acknowledged them as MIA," Natarle reminded him, "That's an order." She added upon seeing Sai's surprised look, "If you can't get over it and keep mourning…then you might just be the first to join them…that's how a battlefield works…" A few hallways down, Flay had finally come out to look for Kira when she passed by the cafeteria, where a discussion about the Strike and X happened to be taking place.

"Yeah…but who would've thought we'd make it to Alaska without those two?"

"Can't say I did. I still can't believe that Yamato and Mouri got killed…" As Flay listened, she saw Kuzzey approaching and decided to ask him.

"Kuzzey," Flay said, getting his attention, "Where's Kira? I've been asking everyone, but they're not saying anything. You know something, don't you?"

"…He's…he's MIA," Kuzzey sighed, "Stands for 'Missing In Action'. He's basically considered dead but no one's sure about it yet. So are Tolle and Ryo."

"What?"

"Anyway, that's all I know for now," Kuzzey added and turned to go into the cafeteria, "Ask someone else."

"Wait a minute!" Flay frowned, grabbing his shoulder to stop him, "I'm asking you, where is Kira?"

"I told you I don't know!" Kuzzey snapped, something he rarely did, "He could be dead or alive…"

"What does that mean?" Flay asked irritably, but inside, she was starting to grow worried.

"He's…he's probably dead," Kuzzey replied and went in, "Now leave me alone!"

"Kira…" Flay gaped, "Is…is dead…?" Even as her eyes started to sting, Sai had reached the room he shared with the others, a box in each hand and the third beneath his arm. It wasn't until he walked in when he noticed Miriallia sitting on her bed, her knees to her chest.

"Oh…hey, Miriallia…" he greeted, quickly holding the boxes behind his back in an attempt to hide them.

"Any word about Tolle yet?" Miriallia asked, although she knew by now that it was useless to hope.

"No, nothing," Sai replied, shaking his head, "But…I'm sure he'll be fine…Kira and Ryo too…The Captain's asked ORB to help look for them, so we might hear some news by the time we reach headquarters."

"Yeah…maybe…" Miriallia nodded, putting on a smile that anyone could tell was fake, "Maybe…"

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," Sai suggested after placing the boxes on the bed behind him and sliding them out of view, "You shouldn't be in here by yourself…come on, now…" Miriallia nodded again and got up but when they went out into the hallway, they were greeted by a surprise.

"Ow! Not so hard, I'm hurt here!" someone down the hall exclaimed, "Seriously, how long are you bastards planning on keeping me locked up in this dump?"

"Shut up and keep walking!" The two looked up to see that a crowd had gathered on the sides of the hallway as two officers led a stranger in front of them. The person had blonde, wavy hair, eyes almost similar to Kira's, and tan skin. The officers had tied his hands behind him and were keeping a gun pointed at his back as well.

"That's the pilot of the Buster," Neumann told them, "He's a lot younger than I expected…" Miriallia looked at the ground, not caring, while Sai gave the pilot a glare. Just as he was passing, however, he noticed Miriallia and stopped for a second to get a closer look.

"Well now, the Earth Forces have cute girls on their ship after all!" he remarked and then noticed her eyes, "Eh? What're you crying for? If anything…I should be the one crying here…stuck on this stupid ship…"

"Alright, pal, let's go!" the officer with the gun frowned, jabbing him in the back with it.

"Listen here, you, my name's not 'pal'!" the pilot retorted as he was led away, "It's Dearka, got it? Dearka Elsman!" Even as he walked away, he risked a glance over his shoulder and gave a small smirk at Miriallia, which strained Sai's remaining self-restraint.

"Don't!" Neumann warned and grabbed Sai's arm to stop him from attacking the pilot, "It's against military conduct to harm a prisoner." Sai ceased struggling but still sent the pilot a look of resentment, while Miriallia and Flay, who had also seen this, did the same.

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Later that evening, the plane that had brought Cagalli to the Marshall Islands had landed in the middle of the ocean near the borders of ZAFT's Carpentaria base. Outside, one of ZAFT's own planes was descending next to it. Meanwhile, Cagalli and Athrun were sitting in silence in different parts of the room when someone knocked on the door and opened it. "His escort has arrived," Kisaka told her when he came in and Cagalli nodded before getting up and going over to Athrun.

"Athrun," she said, shaking his shoulder, "Hey, your escort's here." When Athrun gave her a puzzled look, Cagalli explained, "We're not allowed to bring any ZAFT soldiers into ORB. Come on, get up…" When she had helped him onto his feet, she added, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I guess so…you really are a strange person, you know?" Athrun smiled but Cagalli didn't respond. "I suppose I owe you a 'thank you'," Athrun added as he turned to walk past her, "But right now…I dunno…" With that, he walked past her and Cagalli sighed before she remembered something.

"Wait a minute!" Cagalli exclaimed and hurried over to him as she pulled the necklace she was wearing over her head. As she slipped it over his, she explained, "It's a Haumea amulet…you have a thing for getting into trouble. This'll protect you from the dangerous life you chosen." Athrun was rather unsure whether to be surprised or touched, as he didn't know Cagalli was superstitious.

"Really?" Athrun blinked, "Even though I…I killed Kira and Ryo?" Cagalli paused for a moment and Athrun could see the tears threatening to come back.

"I just…" Cagalli finally said, "Don't want any one else that I know to die…no matter who it is…" That being said, she saw Athrun to the door, where a small boat was waiting for him. After a silent good-bye, Athrun got in and the officer next to him started the boat's motor, moving it over to the ZAFT aircraft nearby. In the doorway, Athrun could easily identify Yzak from his red uniform, silver hair, and of course, the trademark scowl on his face.

"You ass!" Yzak shouted when Athrun was close enough, "What the hell did you have to come back to life for?" Athrun couldn't help but chuckle as Yzak helped him into the aircraft, as he knew that this was Yzak's way of saying that he was glad to see that he was alright.

"The Strike and X are gone…" Athrun muttered to him quietly before he was lead inside. If he had looked back, though, he would have seen that a rare, genuine smile had formed on Yzak's face.

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"Oh my, now why did you do that?" Lacus asked a green Haro in a somewhat scolding tone as it bounced away from a broken pot, "You really shouldn't do that, Mr. Green. If you keep doing it, I won't play with you anymore…" All of a sudden, her favorite pink Haro acted up and bounced off towards a small gazebo, completely surrounded by glass walls. "Oh, Mr. Pink, you can't go over there!" she called out and got up to follow it.

"Yes I can!" the small round robot chirped and then bounced in front of one of the walls, which slid aside with a slight hiss before it bounced in, landing on a large bed in the middle. Lacus followed it in and that was when she attracted the attention of a certain black-haired teenager.

"Oh, good morning, Lacus," the boy nodded.

"Good morning to you too!" Lacus smiled and then turned to retrieve her Haro, "I hope we're not disturbing you."

"Not at all," he replied and then gestured towards the bed's occupant, a sleeping, brown-haired boy, "In fact, he was just waking up when you came in." All of a sudden, the sleeping boy stirred and opened his eyes, revealing a magnificent shade of violet.

"Ah, good morning!" Lacus giggled, "Mr. Yamato!"

Phase 31: End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Double X will appear when it appears. Saying when will be a spoiler.

Ominae- Mu's Skygrasper simply made a crash landing in the ocean. It was not destroyed if that's what you were thinking.

Warp Ligia Obscura- I suppose that this chapter answered that, no?

Author's Note: I may be starting a new fan-fic soon (not Gundam Seed), so updates will now come when I get the chance. Thanks for understanding.


	33. In the Promised Land

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 32: In the Promised Land

_April 25, C.E. 71, Earth Forces Supreme Headquarters "JOSH-A", Earth_

"X-Alpha-Alpha, guidance channel online on channel Omega-Three, Sequence Five."

"Incoming relay message from the docks," Pal announced, "The guidance channel is online on channel Omega-Three, Sequence Five."

"Ensign Neumann, switch the ship's controls to automatic as soon as we've confirmed their signal," Murrue said, "We'll leave the rest to them." After many days of traveling, the Archangel was finally approaching its destination in Alaska. Earlier, a small escort fleet of four Arkansas-class cruisers was now leading it towards the dock. Up until now, many of the crew members had been deprived of sleep over the past events and many were now catching up on much needed rest..

"Guidance signal confirmed," Neumann replied, "Engaging navigation computer. Now setting flight controls to automatic." Even though the fact that they were approaching a massive waterfall should have brought much joy to the crew, almost all of them were still in a state of grief. Flay was sitting in the room that Kira had slept in, staring at the box containing his possessions blankly. Miriallia, on the other hand, wept openly while the box with Tolle's things sat next to her. As for Tiffa, she sat on Ryo's old bed, cradling the music box he once entrusted to her against her chest. As Ryo had had few belongings to begin with, his box was smaller and failed to take up much space. Glancing at it, she heaved a sigh and wiped her eyes, which were starting to become wet again. Even as she mourned, a sudden tugging at her heart caught her attention and her grief seemed to lift. Puzzled, she deftly opened the box and when she heard the music, it was as if he was there next to her and the notes seemed to carry his words.

"He's…he's not…" Tiffa blinked and slowly started to smile, "He's not dead…." Getting up, she giggled slightly and spun around on her feet a little, "He's not dead!" Meanwhile, the Archangel had reached the waterfall and most would have been astonished to see it part before the ship, revealing the main gate to the fortress. Deep inside, a small meeting was being held by the Atlantic Federation's top officers discussing the events.

"The Archangel…I never thought it would really make it here…" one of them remarked and then added, "You think Halberton's force of will protected them?"

"Hmph…" another one, the head of the Atlantic Federation Captain Sutherland huffed as he looked down at a report that he and the others were holding in their hands, "These young Coordinator brats were the ones _really_ protecting them…"

"Captain Sutherland, don't be so sure of that," another replied and looked back down at the report, "Luckily, the declaration of the Strike and…X as well as their pilots as MIA can be considered a rather…fortunate accident for us."

"The GAT series will be our main weapon soon," Sutherland frowned, "We're going to be getting a lot of use out of them, so we don't want people saying that they were first operated by a bunch of Coordinators."

"You're right about that," the same officer nodded, "That'll only prove that those bastards are better at controlling those things than we are."

"All of the technology has been improved and is still being developed," Sutherland told the rest of the assembly as he accessed a file containing blue-prints for the new models, "This time, we'll be the ones with the advantage!"

"What are you going to say to Azrael about this?"

"I told him that I'd handle any problems that surfaced," Sutherland said, "Unfortunately, it might prove to be rather…costly."

"I don't see what the problem is, Captain Sutherland," another officer remarked, "In my view, we can make a lot of use out of the Archangel. The ZAFT seem to have a great deal of rivalry against it. It would make pretty good bait, don't you think?"

"Hmm…you mean use it to lure the ZAFT?" Sutherland smirked, "Heh…anything for a blue and pure world, I suppose…" At this time, the Archangel was completely docked inside the base and extensive repairs had already begun.

"This is a message from Captain William Sutherland in the Joint Operations Office to the Archangel of the 8th Mobility Fleet," a messenger told them on the screen, "He welcomes you to JOSH-A after your long battles. However, because of some issues we are having, he asks that your entire crew remain on standby until a new order is issued."

"On standby?" Murrue blinked, expressing the surprise of not only herself, but the rest of the crew as well, "But…"

"I'm afraid so," the messenger nodded and then added in a quieter tone, "This place has been really busy lately ever since we got wind of a rumor that ZAFT was going to invade Panama. Anyway, please get some rest for now, we'll contact you again when some news pops up." With that, the line was killed and the bridge started to buzz with confused chatter.

"What the hell was that all about?" Neumann asked, a bit peeved by the treatment, "I mean, sure, I didn't expect a parade or anything when we got here, but they could've at least come down to greet us."

"I guess they're just really unhappy with us," Murrue sighed, "After all, we did lose every G-unit except for the Buster."

"But still," Natarle frowned, "If that rumor is true…could ZAFT be going after the Mass Driver over in Panama?"

"If that's the case, then it's only natural for headquarters to be busy," Murrue said, "The Porta Panama is the only Mass Driver that we have left. If we lose it, we'll have no way to get to space…"

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At the Carpentaria base in Australia, ZAFT was beginning its preparations. Carriers came down every now and then dropping off Mobile Suits of all sorts to be stored. In fact, there were so many that more than a few Ginns had to be stored without their arms attached to make room for more. The Duel, the only remaining Mobile Suit left that was stolen from the Earth Forces, had its own spot where many technicians worked quickly to finish its repairs and maintenance while Yzak watched from below. Meanwhile, Athrun had been put into the infirmary to recover from his adventures and even now, as he lay in the cot and stared out the window, his mind drifted aimlessly.

First, he remembered the death of Nicol, committed by the hands of the former Blitz pilot's own best friend Ryo. Then came the memory of attaching the Aegis to the Strike and then having it self-detonate while he made his escape, destroying his own Mobile Suit while rendering the other, as well as the X, useless. And finally, he recalled the conversation that he had had with Cagalli only a little more than a week ago, where she had finally made him realize what he had done.

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"_Kira…took too many risks…didn't always think things through and he always cried!" Cagalli exclaimed, ignoring the tears sliding down her face, "And Ryo…Ryo always blamed himself for everything…and he's act like a real ass sometimes! But they were both kind…they were both good people!"_

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The sudden ringing of the intercom shook him from his thoughts and he turned to see who it was. "It's Creuset," the person outside said, "I'm coming in now." At that, the door opened and Athrun's superior officer stepped in, with a somewhat cynical smile on his face. "Ah, Athrun," Rau nodded, "I do hope you are well." He immediately raised his hand as Athrun rose to get up and added, "As you are, Athrun. I believe you're supposed to be resting."

"Commander…" Athrun blinked and then bowed his head in shame, "I've…I've disgraced you, sir…"

"Now, now, don't be so negative," Rau assured him, "I've already heard the report. You've done well, Athrun."

"No, I…"

"I must apologize for not coming to see you earlier," Rau said, "There were many great sacrifices to be made, some greater than others, but in the end, they had to be done. It only goes to show that they truly were that formidable…your friends, that is…" Although he didn't show it, Athrun was rather surprised that Rau had remembered as his superior added, "I understand that it has been a long and difficult battle. But Miguel…Nicol…Commander Waltfield and Commander Morrassim…many brave soldiers lost their lives to those two. You, who exacted revenge on them, are now regarded as quite the hero back at the PLANTs." Rau gave a slight smile of pride as he added, "I have also heard…that you are to be awarded the Order of Nebula for your achievements." At this, Athrun looked up in surprise. The Order of Nebula was perhaps the most prestigious honor that a ZAFT soldier of any rank could receive. The medal could only be earned by the best soldiers, those who went above and beyond any expectations on the battlefield and pulled off astounding achievements. Rau himself had received the award and the rank of Commander after the Battle of Yggdrasil, in which he single handedly 37 Mobile Armors and six Earth Forces warships using only his standard Ginn. "I fell rather unfortunate because of this last one," Rau told him with a hint of remorse, "You have even received a dispatch that came from the National Defense Committee itself. You're being promoted to Special Forces."

"No way…Commander!"

"Congratulations, Athrun," Rau nodded, "You're now one of ZAFT's best top-guns. They're asking you to return as soon as you can and once you do, you are to be assigned a brand new unit. Of course, I won't tell you what it is and ruin the surprise…"

"But!"

"Have you heard that your honorable father is also the chairman of the Supreme Council now?" Rau asked.

"Y-Yes, I have."

"Chairman Zala sincerely desires a quick end to this war," Rau told him and gave him a pat on the shoulder, "I do as well. And so, Athrun, I would like for you to fight with all your strength…so that we can finally end this chaos that we live in…"

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Meanwhile, up in Aprilius City in PLANT, it was another beautiful morning for the Clyne residence. The sun was out and birds flitted around the trees beneath a cloudless sky. Here, Lacus was visiting a bedridden Kira, who had been waking up on and off for the past week and was finally able to speak after all the rest. "Where…am I?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth when he noticed that he didn't recognize this place.

"There will be time for that later," Lacus smiled, "Are you feeling better, Kira?"

"Fine?" Haro chirped, bouncing up and down next to her, "You feel fine?"

"You're…Miss Lacus…" Kira blinked, "How did I…?"

"Oh, please, just call me Lacus," the young songstress giggled, "But I'm glad that you remembered me, Kira."

"Thank you! Thank yooooou!" Haro babbled, hopping onto the bed and clapping its "wings" in an excited manner.

"You snore pretty loud, you know," another voice added and Kira turned his head to see another familiar face.

"Ryo!" Kira exclaimed, "Is that…?"

"Who'd you expect? George Glenn?" Ryo asked, raising an amused eyebrow, "You hanging in there, Kira?"

"I've been better," Kira winced, "What about you?" In response, Ryo lifted up his shirt to reveal several bandages wrapped around his torso, as well as a few on his arms. A few pieces of gauze were stuck to his face and Kira could feel a few pieces on his own, as well as bandages wrapped around his forehead and torso.

"Can't say that I didn't get messed up too," Ryo sighed and let his shirt down again, "But hey, at least I didn't get a concussion like you did. You've been out for the past week." Even as he finished saying that, the sound of approaching footsteps prompted the two standing teens to look up. Approaching them was a blind man dressed in the clothes of a priest, his cane held slightly in front of him.

"I see he's opened his eyes," he said, turning to face Kira even if he couldn't see him.

"That's right, Reverend Malchio," Lacus nodded with a smile.

"I'm sure that you were surprised to wake up in a place like this," Malchio smiled at Kira, who was vainly struggling to sit up at the moment, "But Miss Lacus insisted that your bed be out here."

"I only thought for the best," Lacus giggled, "It seemed much more comfortable out here than in the room and I thought that the fresh air would do him some good."

"But then…" Kira blinked, "How did I get here?"

"I found the two of you lying unconscious in my prayer garden," Malchio replied, "You were both injured and in need of assistance. It also seemed that your friend here carried you there before he himself collapsed."

"And you were heavy too," Ryo added with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"And so, when I found you," Malchio said, ignoring the remark, "I brought you here to PLANT, where the Clynes have been taking care of you and your friend."

"It's not too bad, either!" Ryo butted in again, "Lacus makes some pretty good tea; you should try some later…" He trailed off a bit when he noticed that Kira wasn't listening to him and then saw that Kira had begun to sweat and his breathing rate had sharply increased.

"Kira?" Lacus asked when she noticed as well, "What's wrong?"

"I…why am…" Kira gasped, looking at Lacus, "Why are we…?"

"You are alive," Malchio answered, as if he knew what Kira was trying to ask, "Because both you and your friend carry a SEED…" All of a sudden, Kira jerked upright in the bed, the sudden force carrying over as he sat hunched over, eyes overflowing with sudden tears.

"Kira!" Lacus exclaimed and quickly moved closer to his side, "Kira?"

"Haro! Haro!" Haro chirped as it bounced nearby, "There is a problem!"

"Quiet you!" Ryo hissed and the robot fell silent before he added more calmly, "It's not physical pain that's bothering him. His memories are what's causing this sudden grief." Even as he spoke, Kira's tears didn't stop and after a while, Lacus put her hand over his in an attempt to calm him. It worked to an extent, as his breathing slowed a bit but he was still crying.

"I…we fought against…Athrun…" Kira mumbled between sobs, "I…I couldn't have…survived…" There was a brief silence before Lacus sighed and moved so that she was sitting right next to Kira and put a comforting arm around his shoulders, her other hand still on his.

"Kira…" she said and gently stroked his back in an assuring way, "There now, it's alright…"

"I suppose I will be going now," Malchio smiled, "I will drop by again later to check on you."

"Alright," Ryo nodded and then added, "Thanks for everything, Reverend Malchio." The blind priest simply smiled and turned before leaving. Later, when Kira had stopped crying, Lacus poured tea for everyone while Ryo watched in slight amusement as Okapi was ran about on its four stubby legs with five Haros in varying colors chased after it, one even riding on the tray that was its back. "Hey, Lacus, don't mind me asking, but…" Ryo suddenly said, "Do those things ever make people in this house lose sleep?"

"Not any more," Lacus smiled as she finished pouring, "But I remember that they used to give Mr. Foster more than a few grey hairs."

"I'm not very surprised," Ryo muttered as he watched the Haros swarm the unfortunate turtle-like robot, "Ouch…that doesn't look like too much fun…"

"Oh don't worry," Lacus giggled as she watched as well, "They're just playing. They've never hurt each other…at least, not yet…"

"Oh, I see," Ryo blinked but then added when his gaze fell on a particular Haro, "Hey, is that orange one supposed to be acting like a pinball on a sugar high while blabbing incessantly in Spanish?" He pointed at the said robot and Lacus looked to see that the orange Haro was now indeed shooting about with no abandon while screeching something about burritos and what sounded like mustard in amazingly fluent Spanish.

"Well, I haven't seen it do that before," Lacus shrugged, "But I'm sure it's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Ryo asked before pointing again, "Because I really don't think it's supposed to smoking like that…" Lacus blinked before looking to see that the same Haro was indeed emitting smoke from several crevices in its round body.

"Oh dear," Lacus sighed, "I guess I'll have to get Athrun to fix it when he comes to visit again."

"I…couldn't do anything…" Kira suddenly muttered, diverting their attention away from the malfunctioning Haro, "I…his friends…I ki-"

"Correction," Ryo interrupted with a frown as Lacus put a cup of tea next to Kira's bedside, "_We_ killed them, Kira."

"And Athrun…" Kira continued, not really paying attention, "Killed our friend…" There was a brief silence as Lacus took a sip of her drink before setting it down.

"So…you both tried to kill Athrun…" she sighed, "And Athrun tried to kill the two of you…"

"Pretty much," Ryo nodded, drinking a bit of his own.

"But…I guess it couldn't be helped…in fact, we should have expected as much," Lacus added, "As long as there is a war…you will both fight him as enemies…" Both of them looked at her, not expecting such wise words from a normally cheerful girl as she added, "Am I correct?" Kira and Ryo glanced at each other before the latter shrugged and took a sip from his cup.

"Enemies…" Kira muttered, watching a few birds land on the shoulders of Malchio, who was nearby, "Is that…what we are now?"

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"Olbani's compromise plan…" Former Chairman Siegel Clyne sighed, "What do you plan on doing with it? After all, Operation Spit Break has already been approved. I myself don't intend on leaving this matter alone. However, if we do choose to fight, it will always mean that there will be more sacrifices." At this, Representative Amalfi cringed a bit, being reminded that his own son had been one of those sacrifices. "Wouldn't we all be better off if we just tried to avoid it altogether?" Siegel added, glancing down at the paper that everyone was currently holding. At the moment, the PLANT Supreme Council was holding another meeting to discuss a proposal that had been made by an Earth Forces peace negotiator that had plans to bring the two factions to a compromise. Currently, though, the council was torn in a decision by its moderate and radical parties, both with their own points of view on the proposal.

"However, do you really think that such a peace agreement such as this will really hold up in these times?" Representative Ezalia Joule asked, tapping on the paper to express her point, "This is just those cowards' way of saying that they're winning and that we should just give up!"

"But if we just refuse them without considering," Representative Eileen Canaver replied, "Then there won't be any hope of peace left!"

"Something like that? In this era?" Representative Tad Elsman blinked, "It's nothing more than buying time…futilely!"

"But doesn't Olbani represent this society as a whole?" Representative Joule frowned, "Even if we did want to solve this by talking, what good would that do?" At this, many council members muttered in agreement while Chairman Patrick Zala listened quietly.

"Are you suggesting, then, that we should just forget about talking and keep fighting with our guns?" Siegel asked angrily, standing up to emphasize, "Are we really that kind of people?"

"Former Chairman, I do believe that was a bit rash," Patrick finally said, standing up to calm him, "Our actions are based on the representation of the people. I'm sure that we would all appreciate it if you didn't make outbursts based on personal feelings."

"My apologies," Siegel nodded grudgingly and sat down.

"I will gladly hear any opinions that the people have to offer, and I'm sure that you are trying to express what they might think in a situation like this," Patrick added, addressing everyone now, "However, the rest of this is something that we, the Supreme Council has to decide on. Now, I would like to extend my thanks to the Reverend Malchio, who has so kindly decided to attend today's meeting with us as our guest."

"I will pass that on to him," Siegel replied, "I hope we choose the right path and consider our future…" Even as this was going on, Rau le Creuset was heading off to his next destination aboard a Vosgulov-class submarine and giving a quick briefing to the minors under his command.

"I've learned from several sources that the Alaska base is set up in a way that it can withstand even a full-scale nuclear attack," Rau informed them, pointing at an map of the Alaskan area, "However, they are unable to use nuclear weapons, and ZAFT has no such intentions of using them either. In order to bring down this fortress, we will have to make an assault on a location called Grand Follow, but even that in itself is no easy task. If we underestimate them at this late juncture, we will be sure to suffer the consequences." He glanced back at the map and added, "Information about the layout of the Alaska base is something that we need to be constantly updated on. However, even our reconnaissance teams that are in the area now have other special duties and precautionary missions on top of this. So, even if you want to tell other people about what you accomplished here, I ask that you refrain from doing so until the war is over."

"Sir!" the minors all chorused at once.

"The source of the leaks of information we have been receiving is not something you know of," Rau said, "And for now…you will just have to keep guessing…" Meanwhile, over in JOSH-A, the crew of the Archangel was still awaiting an update when Murrue finally got tired of it and sent a message herself. Currently, the rest of the bridge crew was taking a break and she had a little time to herself.

"This is the Joint Operations Office."

"This is Lieutenant Commander Murrue Ramius, Captain of the Archangel of the 8th Mobility Fleet," Murrue said, "I would like to know what our orders are in terms of this ship."

"All orders regarding your ship will be given to you by Captain Sutherland," the officer replied, "It's not in my power to do so."

"Then may I speak to the Captain, please?" Murrue asked, getting a little frustrated.

"My apologies, ma'am, but the Captain is currently at an important meeting," the officer said, "I'm afraid that I can't patch you through now."

"But we've even reported that we're holding a ZAFT pilot prisoner on board!" Murrue exclaimed, "And we haven't even gotten any word regarding that!"

"Your ship and crew are still under orders to remain as it is until further orders come in," the officer sighed, "I'm truly sorry, ma'am, but right now, I can't tell you anything more than that. However, I'll tell the Captain that you wanted to speak with him when he comes back." With that the line was cut and Murrue was left rather annoyed. At that moment, the door to the bridge opened and she said irritably, "The shift isn't over yet. There's still half an hour left."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Captain," a timid voice replied, "I'll come back later then, alright?" Murrue turned to see that it was Tiffa, who was about to retreat behind the doorway.

"Oh my, you'll have to excuse me, Crewman Adil," Murrue smiled a bit sheepishly, calming down significantly, "I haven't been having much success contacting my superiors, so you can imagine that I'm a bit frustrated."

"It's perfectly alright," Tiffa nodded in an understanding way, "I know that you must be under a lot of stress…after all that's happened."

"Yes, it's been hard on everyone," Murrue agreed, "Did you need something?"

"Well, actually," Tiffa began a bit hesitantly, now suddenly rather conscious of herself, "I…heard that we're in need of a co-pilot ever since…" Murrue nodded to show that she understood and Tiffa added, "So, I was wondering if I could…"

"You want to take over Crewman Koenig's former position?" Murrue asked and Tiffa nodded a bit sadly.

"I felt that I've done nothing useful ever since I volunteered," Tiffa explained, "So…I thought that I'd finally do something that was of use…"

"Well," Murrue said thoughtfully, "I suppose leaving a gap in the bridge crew wouldn't help much around here, so I guess you can have the position. Although, I will have to change your shift around a bit."

"That's fine," Tiffa nodded, "Well, I'll come back later when it's my shift." As Tiffa left the bridge, Sai was busy trying to convince a still-depressed Miriallia to eat her untouched meal. So far, though, he wasn't having much luck.

"Miriallia," he sighed, "You've got to at least eat something so you can sleep easier. You haven't eaten a thing for days…well; then again, I guess you've got a good reason to…"

"But seriously, when the hell are we gonna be allowed to get off?" a technician asked as he walked in with another two, "We've been cooped up in our own ship for the past week or so. This is just way too weird."

"Yeah, but if we do leave and there's still work to be done here," another reminded him, "We'll be short of hands."

"What are you talking about?" the first one asked, "There's almost nothing for us to do now. All we have left is Skygrasper 1…that shouldn't be too hard to work on…"

"Well, we could always go work on the Buster," the third suggested while Sai finally gave up on his attempts and went to put their trays away, Miriallia's still full, "You know, just to kill some time or something?"

"Now why would you want to fix on an enemy unit?"

"What do you mean? It was ours to begin with, dumb-ass."

"I guess you're right," the technician nodded, "Besides, no one can even move that thing now unless they're a Coordinator…"

"Who cares? As long as they can fly the damn thing," the other scoffed, "Say, I heard that the girl who fancied Ensign Mouri is a Coordinator…you think she'd be interested?"

"No way," the last replied, "I hear she freaked just doing a Skygrasper simulation. There's no chance she'll want to pilot a Mobile Suit…"

"Milly?" he asked, "Milly, come on." The said girl was quivering in her seat, the technicians' conversation reminding her that not only were two of her best friends gone, so was the person she loved. And now, it was all that she could do to keep herself from breaking down all over again in the middle of the cafeteria. "Milly, come on," Sai told her, "If you're not going to eat, you should at least go down to the infirmary and get some vitamin packs. It's not good for you if you don't get enough nutrients in your system." Miriallia simply nodded, too broken to speak, and Sai helped her up before leading her from the cafeteria. Even as they walked, she couldn't help but sniffle a bit as she struggled to contain her tears.

"Milly?" Tiffa said as she came around a corner, "Sai, what's wrong?"

"I guess she's still a little upset," Sai told her as she joined them, "She was devastated by this, you know."

"Yes, I know," Tiffa nodded and then added, "I…got a position on the bridge…"

"Really?" Sai asked and smiled a bit, glad that the conversation was going elsewhere, "What're you doing now?"

"I'm…" Tiffa faltered a bit and glanced at Miriallia, who looked to preoccupied to notice. Deftly, she motioned for Sai to lean closer and she whispered into his ear, "I'm…the co-pilot…" At this, Sai understood why she had wanted to keep quiet about it. The position of co-pilot had been Tolle's responsibility before he had become the pilot of a Skygrasper. Saying that she had replaced Tolle would have made Miriallia's emotional state even worse.

"Sai?" someone asked behind them and they, with the exception of Miriallia, turned to see Flay standing there looking a bit nervous, "Um, look…can we talk for a bit?" As the two looked at her in confusion, Birdee suddenly came flying from behind Flay and as Sai turned around completely to let it land on his shoulder, Flay was suddenly vividly reminded of how Kira had used to do the same thing.

"What?" Sai asked as Flay stared, "What is it?" At that moment, Birdee left Sai's shoulder and flew over to Flay to perch on her shoulder. However, the red-head feared the memories that the bird would stir up and flailed her arms wildly, trying to swat it away.

"No!" she cried out, "Leave me alone!"

"Birdee," Sai said calmly, "That's enough, leave her alone." At that, Birdee obeyed and flew off back down the corridor. "Flay," Sai frowned as she fought to control herself, "If you don't have anything important to say, then we'll talk later. We're taking Miriallia to get some vitamin packs, so I can't really don't have the time now…"

"Sai!" Flay called out as he led Miriallia away and the bespectacled boy finally gave in.

"Tiffa, can you take Milly for me?" he asked, "I won't take too long." Tiffa nodded and took Miriallia by the arm before leading her down the hall.

"Excuse us," Tiffa said before the door hissed open in front of them and Tiffa led her older friend inside before asking, "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Miriallia choked, managing to forge a smile, "Why don't you wait outside? It shouldn't take long for me to get the things."

"Maybe I should get some medication from the doctor," Tiffa added, still a bit worried, "Until then, you ought to get some sleep. You must be very tired." Miriallia nodded and Tiffa put a comforting hand on her arm before leaving. When she was gone, the auburn-haired girl let her façade drop and trudged over to a nearby stool and sat down. She was so deep in thought that she was rather surprised to hear something shift behind her.

"Hey, doctor!" a voice called out from the bed behind her, startling her, "What took you so long?" Having not expected anyone to be in the infirmary at the same time as she was, she glanced back and was shocked to see a familiar face looking at her. It was none other than the captured ZAFT pilot and while he gave her an innocently surprised look, Miriallia leaped up from her stool and stood near the bed opposite to his as if he had just given her a filthy look. Meanwhile, Sai and Flay had gone a few feet down the hallway to talk in private and it looked as if Flay really did have something important to say.

"Well? Spit it out," Sai said, "What's going on?"

"That's what I want to know," Flay replied, "What happened the day that we left that place? Why's everyone been acting up?"

"Tolle's gone…and so are Kira and Ryo," Sai frowned, "Everyone's taking it really hard…especially Milly…" As Flay gave him a surprised look, he added, "That's why…I can't really care for you right now. I'm really sorry, Flay, but…I'm sure you'll be able to find someone else in the future who'll make you happy…"

"Sai…" Flay muttered as Sai made to walk by her but then burst out, "But…I actually…"

"Flay!" Sai snapped, now losing his patience, "That's enough!"

"You knew it the whole time, didn't you?" Flay asked, starting to become desperate, "You knew that…You knew that I never really had any feelings for Kira in the first place!"

"Flay, stop this right now!" Sai shouted, angered by her selfishness, "I know that you did like Kira! And even if you didn't, he really liked you! So if you didn't really have any feelings for him to begin with, then were you just using him as someone to comfort you before throwing him away? I can't believe you!"

"That's not true, Sai!" Flay replied, "Sai, please…"

"IT _IS_ TRUE!" Sai yelled, "It's true and you know it's true!" Even as Flay stared at him in shock, he said through clenched teeth, "I don't really know what happened between the two of you…and I really don't care at this point. But…he was kind hearted…always thinking about his friends…that's why…I can't stay mad at him…he's just that kind of person!"

"No! It's not like that!" Flay pleaded, "Sai, you have to believe me!" As Flay was vainly trying to convince Sai that her feelings were really for him, Miriallia was still frozen in terror at the sight of the captured pilot that lay before her.

"What's gotten into you?" Dearka asked in a joking manner, "Are you scared of me? Am I really that scary? Come on, I don't look that bad, do I?" He added when he got no response, "Look, you don't have to worry about a thing, alright? They tied up my hands and feet before they left. See?" With that, he sat up to show that his wrists were still tied behind his back before he lay back down. "What, you're crying again?" he asked in a mocking tone as he glanced at her again, "What's a girl like you doing on this stupid ship anyway? If you're so damn scared, then why don't you just go and throw away your uniform and run off? I'm sure these people will be too busy to notice, since they're getting ready to face off against us at Panama and all." By now, Miriallia's fear had turned to an anger that grew with each remark he made until finally, a murderous rage came over her and she looked around from something, anything, that she could use to shut him up for good. Her eyes happened to fall upon the tray containing the medical supplies and lying on the tray was a sharp knife. "Am I right?" Dearka continued, not noticing what she was doing, "Or did your stupid, pathetic little Natural boyfriend die or something?" Just then, a shadow fell across him and he looked up to see Miriallia looming over him, a crazed look in her eyes and the knife raised in her hand. Dearka immediately knew what she was about to do and managed to sit up before she plunged the blade into the pillow where his head had just been. "What the hell are you trying to pull, you bitch?" Dearka exclaimed, very surprised to say the least, "I was freakin' joking!"

Now at the peak of her fury, however, Miriallia either didn't hear him or didn't care as she yanked the knife out before raising it with both hands and lunging. This time, she collided with him and knocked him right off of the bed, tearing the curtains in the process. Crimson stains on the sheets and droplets of blood on the blade showed that she had nicked him with the knife and if it weren't for the restraints, Dearka would have rolled across the floor right into her. At that moment, Tiffa had just been returning to the infirmary with the medicine when she ran into Sai. She was about to ask him what Flay had wanted to talk about when they suddenly heard a commotion coming from down the hallway. "Did you hear that?" Sai asked, "It sounded like it was coming from the infirmary…"

"Oh no…" Tiffa gasped, almost dropping the medication she was carrying, "I heard the others talking earlier…that the ZAFT pilot we captured had been placed in the infirmary because he kept complaining about injuries…"

"But then that means…" Sai said and then was struck by realization, "Oh no, Milly!" The two hurried towards the infirmary and quickly opened the door, only to be greeted by a very odd sight. The prisoner was on the floor on his side, bound, while Miriallia was crouching near him with a knife in her hands.

"Oh my…" Tiffa whispered, this time letting the medication fall from her hands, "Milly…"

"No!" Miriallia screamed at Dearka, oblivious to the presence of the others, "That's not it!"

"Miriallia, no! Stop!" Sai exclaimed, quickly moving forward and grabbed the crazed girl from behind to restrain her.

"Let me go!" she screamed as Tiffa went to help him and it was then that Flay entered the doorway, staring at the scene before her.

"Milly, please, calm down!" Tiffa called out, trying to quell her friend's rage.

"No! Tolle's gone…and he's never coming back! And yet this…this creep…!" Miriallia cried even as she struggled and at this, Dearka looked up to show a cut on the side of his forehead, blood leaking down his face as Miriallia shouted, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS _SCUM-BAG_ DOING HERE!" As Miriallia's fury started to diminish, Flay recalled the death of her father and then the news that Kira had been killed and now, it was her turn for her anger to surface. As she remembered the time she had spent with him, it started to become clear to her that she had indeed loved him, even if it was just a little, for his kindness and the fact that she had been truly loved. The knowledge made her bitterness grow and her fists clenched, her control slowly slipping away.

"Milly," Tiffa sighed, putting a comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Why…Tolle…" Miriallia whimpered, dropping the knife onto the ground and collapsing into Sai, "He's not here anymore…why…?"

"Milly…" It was at this point that Dearka realized that he had made a serious mistake and regretted it deeply. True, it was a habit of his to insult people but it had always been playful. He had never imagined that he would make someone cry because of it, especially a girl that he had been joking around with. All of a sudden, a familiar clicking sound startled everyone from the moment and they looked to see Flay pointing a loaded gun that she had found in an open drawer at Dearka, hatred etched into her features. Apparently, the doctor had felt unsafe around the pilot, and so he had left the weapon in there as a safety measure. Of course, this probably wasn't the way he had intended for it to be taken out.

"F-Flay?" Sai gaped, "What are you doing with a gun?"

"Flay," Tiffa said, trying to calm her, "Please, put it down. Don't do something you'll regret…"

"Coordinators killed my father…and Kira!" Flay spat, ignoring them, "There's no room in this world for those scum…" This comment made Miriallia suddenly remember a conversation that she had once had with Tolle back before the Heliopolis attack, when they had been spending some time taking a walk together in the park.

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_Flashback_

"Do you think Kira's really a Coordinator?" Tolle asked suddenly, "I mean, I know that his friend Ryo is and so is Tiffa, but…sometimes I'm not too sure about him."

"What do you mean?" Miriallia asked, rather confused by the question.

"Well, you know, he's so…I dunno…spacey sometimes," Tolle said thoughtfully, "And sometimes, he almost seems clumsier than I am!"

"Clumsier than you?" Miriallia teased, "That's saying something, Tolle."

"Oh come on!" Tolle groaned, "Those books were heavy! Besides, I couldn't see where I was going, even Ryo would've dropped them!"

"But still, I guess you're right," Miriallia said with a smile, "You know, I always pictured Coordinators as being much scarier…but those three…they're not so bad…"

"Yeah, they really are good people," Tolle nodded, "And if anyone ever mistreats them just because they're Coordinators, I'll stand up for them no matter what!"

"Are you really that tough, Tolle?" Miriallia laughed teasingly, "I seem to recall a certain somebody needing the fire department to get him down from a tree after he got stuck…"

"You would've been scared too! That was a big tree!" Tolle said defensively, "Besides, I'm actually…"

_End flashback_

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"All of you Coordinators…" Flay snarled, snapping Miriallia from her thoughts, "Deserve to be killed!" It suddenly occurred to them what was about to happen and without thinking, Miriallia acted. The next few seconds seemed to occur in a blur of slow movements as she broke away from Sai and rushed at Flay, who had squeezed her eyes shut and tightening her finger around the trigger.

"NO!" Miriallia screamed and put her hand out, pushing the gun upward. Flay was so surprised that she pulled the trigger early and the bullet exploded from the barrel, smashing into the intercom screen above Dearka. Tiffa screamed in horror as shards of glass rained down on the pilot and Sai stared in shock as both girls tumbled to the floor. At first, everyone thought that Miriallia had been hit by the misfire but her fresh sobs proved to them that she was indeed alive; scared and confused beyond reason, but alive. Even as the other three stared in shock at the scene, Captain Sutherland had returned from his meeting and had contacted the Archangel with new instructions for the crew.

"Tomorrow, the officers of the New Model Mobile Assault Ship Archangel of the 8th Mobility Fleet will attend an inquisition regarding the events from its launch to the present moment," he explained, "Commander Ramius, Commander Flaga, and Lieutenant Badgiruel will report to the meeting room tomorrow 0700 hours."

"Sir!" Murrue and Natarle, who were both on the bridge at the time, nodded and saluted their superior before the line was cut. As soon as it was, they lowered their hands and Murrue couldn't help but sigh. True, she had been promoted along with Mu to the rank of Commander, but she had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be as rough as any battle they had fought in.

"I need a day off…" Murrue thought to herself, "No…forget a day…I need the whole month…"

Phase 32: End

To the reviewers:

Warp Ligia Obscura- How Ryo and Kira made it to the Clyne residence will be explained in the next chapter.


	34. Gathering Darkness

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 33: Gathering Darkness

_May 4, C.E. 71, Earth Forces Supreme Headquarters "JOSH-A", Archangel Infirmary_

All that could be heard within the still infirmary was the quiet sniffling sounds of Miriallia's crying, the others too startled to make a sound. Tiffa stood near Sai with a hand over her mouth, her sapphire eyes wide open while Sai blinked, trying to register what had just happened. Dearka shook a few glass shards out of his hair and then turned to look, relieved that he hadn't been shot. "Holy crap…" the pilot thought to himself, exhaling deeply, "I swear I just saw my life flash in front of my eyes back there…" Sai then looked down and noticed the dropped handgun on the floor and quickly stooped down and picked it up, making Dearka nervous again. However, much to his relief, Sai simply ejected the clip and clicked the safety on before setting them down on a nearby table. By now, Miriallia had pushed herself up into a kneeling position while Flay sat up as well, angry and confused. "What did you do that for?" the red-head asked, "Why did you get in my way? Weren't you trying to kill that bastard too?" She waited, but Miriallia was still too shocked to give an answer, "You hate them too, don't you? The Coordinators killed Tolle!" She got up as she added, "What's wrong with you? You're the same, aren't you? We're the same!"

"Flay, stop!" Sai interrupted and took her by the shoulders to calm her down, "That's enough!"

"No…" Miriallia suddenly muttered, "No…I'm not…I'm not like you!"

"Milly…" Tiffa sighed and went over to her friend.

"Then why were you trying to kill him?" Flay frowned, even as Sai tried to stop her, "And why did you stop me when I tried to do the same?"

"Hey, what's going on in here?" someone asked behind them and they turned to see Pal with another officer in the doorway, "Explain yourselves!" Later, as the two officers led a bandaged Dearka down the hallway, Murrue and Natarle walked together to discuss the incident.

"It was a mistake to leave him in there without supervision," Natarle said, "Even if it was for a short time, we should have had some people watching him."

"Yeah," Murrue sighed with a nod, knowing she was right.

"They're also saying that Crewman Alster found the gun in an open drawer," Natarle added, "We've got to be more careful with where we put our weapons…"

"I know," Murrue nodded tiredly, "That'll have to go in the report too, I guess…"

"Captain," Natarle suddenly said and Murrue stopped to listen, "Look, I'm not trying to say that it's your fault. I know that it was beyond our control, and I'm not the kind of person who would criticize you based on personal experience alone…" She paused for a bit before continuing, "What I'm trying to say is that…order is an important thing to any army and even more so these days. Whether it's a night raid or an emergency situation, rules are rules either way."

"Yes, I know," Murrue replied, "I would like to say the same thing too, but…"

"A military needs to be regulated effectively," Natarle explained, "It needs soldiers that will carry out orders without question as well as Commanders who can analyze a situation and give orders accordingly. If we have none of them, then neither victory nor even survival can be guaranteed."

"Even if it is that way," Murrue smiled, "I can't help but go against it sometimes…" She looked up to see Natarle's disapproving look and she added, "I'm sure that you've thought that I don't belong in a uniform many times, but…"

"Captain!" Natarle sputtered, surprised by her words, "That's not…"

"Don't worry, it's alright," Murrue laughed, holding up a hand to quiet the other woman, "I understand perfectly." She then added with a sigh, "I know that a lot of things have happened along the way, and that we didn't always get along during those times…but still, I'm very grateful for everything you've done for us…all of us are…" As she turned, she said, "I'm sure that you'll make a very fine Captain…some day…" With that, she walked off, leaving Natarle to think.

"Hmph…" Natarle huffed as she too turned to walk away, "No wonder you're so soft…" Meanwhile, Dearka lay on another cot, this time in a dark cell, as he tried to get comfortable in his new environment. True, it wasn't as comfortable as the infirmary, but there weren't any people in their trying to kill him either. Heaving a sigh, he turned over onto his side, only to be greeted by a splitting pain in his head.

"Ow!" he winced, rubbing the bandaged part of his forehead, "Son of a…" As he willed the pain to subside, he thought back to what he had said earlier and couldn't help but feel just a little guilty about it.

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"_Am I right...or did your stupid, pathetic little Natural boyfriend die or something?"_

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"…_Tolle's gone…and he's never coming back! And yet this…this creep…WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SCUM-BAG DOING HERE!"_

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"Tsch…" Dearka muttered, "Who would've thought that I hit the nail on the head?" Sighing, he turned back over onto his back and added, "Damn…and I was just about to make a move on her too…" Looking around, he sighed, "This…freakin' sucks…" The next day, as scheduled, the entire senior crew of the Archangel piled into one of the several conference rooms housed in the JOSH-A Base. Shortly after their arrival, the doors opened and everyone present stood at attention as the three head officers of each Earth Forces division came in. The lead figure, Captain Sutherland, placed a folder before his place at the table before each of them saluted the officers present.

"I am Captain William Sutherland of the Atlantic Federation and head of the Earth Alliance Forces," he began, "From henceforth, I will be responsible for the review and command of the New Model Mobile Assault Ship Archangel of the 8th Mobility Fleet. Please be seated." At that, everyone sat down and the head officers removed their hats as he added, "The navigation data has already been extracted and as been deciphered by Nav-Com. And I must say that that is quite a record, Captain Ramius." Murrue nodded and Sutherland continued, "Now then, I will hear the reports and testimonies of the events that occurred from the Archangel's launch up until now. After that, this inquisition will be reported to the Military Judicial Committee. I am notifying you now in advance that anything and everything that you say or do while here will be formally recorded, so I do hope that everyone gives an honest report. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Murrue nodded curtly.

"Very well then," Sutherland said, "We'll start with File One." He hit a switch and the room darkened as a wall panel opened up behind him to show a screen, "This will relate to the incident in which the ZAFT forces began their assault on the Heliopolis space colony. The council will now hear the reports from Commander Murrue Ramius, who was a Lieutenant at the time." Murrue stood up, hat under her arm, ready to give her report.

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Up in PLANT, atthe Clyne residence, Lacus was humming to herself merrily as usual while pushing a small cart that was laden with the morning meal for Kira, Ryo, and herself. She had decided, since Kira was still in bed and Ryo spent most of his time outside anyway, that they would have breakfast out in the open today and she couldn't say that she wasn't looking forward to it. Her Haro seemed to be excited as well, babbling like it always did as it bounced alongside the cart. "Yes, Mr. Pink, we'll be eating breakfast outside today," she giggled, walking through the glass tunnel that connected the house to where Kira slept. When she got there, however, she was greeted by the sight of an empty bed with the covers slightly messy and she left the cart for a bit to get a better look.

"Haro!" Haro chirped, "What's this?"

"Oh?" Lacus blinked, "Now where could those two have run off to?"

"Haro! Where to? Where to?" Looking around, she noticed a piece of paper folded up into an arrow pointing out one of the automatic doors. Glancing up, she looked until she saw that it pointed to a road that lead to a flight of steps leading down.

"Oh, I see," she giggled, "You wait here, Mr. Pink, and I'll go fetch them." As Lacus left the small glass gazebo, two other figures were already up and about. Further down the stairs that Lacus was now approaching, Kira and Ryo were standing around getting some fresh air. Kira, who Ryo had helped down the steps, was leaning against the railing staring out into the distance while Ryo stood at hand, watching the seagulls fly about.

"It's rather nice, isn't it?" Ryo suddenly asked and gestured at the scenery as Kira watched a boat float by on the distant lake, "This place I mean."

"Yeah," Kira nodded absent-mindedly, "I guess it is…"

"It's a shame, though…" Ryo sighed, catching Kira's attention.

"What?"

"That someday…" Ryo said, gesturing about again, "This place…may become a battle field too…" Kira sighed and looked out again, not wanting to think about it. Instead, he let his mind drift to other things. He didn't, however, expect to stop on Tolle.

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"_We're perfectly safe here, ORB would never get involved in war, that's why it's a neutral nation."_

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"_Stop looking at them like that! They may be Coordinators, but they're not on their side! They're with us!"_

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"_Nope!" Tolle smiled, "This was my decision! I volunteered for this!"_

-----------------------------

_"Tolle..." Kira gaped, "Tolle, no! Stay back!"_

_"This is..." Ryo blinked as realization dawned on him, "This is...just like my other dream..." As he muttered this, Tolle fired a missile at the Aegis, which dodged. As the Aegis drew its arm back, Ryo saw what it was about to do and he shouted, "Tolle, you idiot! Fall back and get the hell out there!" As Tolle looked at the X in confusion, the Aegis whipped its arm around, flinging its shield at the Skygrasper. Tolle only had enough time to give a nervous laugh as the shield closed in on him and Kira and Ryo could only watch helplessly as the sharp point of the Aegis' shield smashed into the cockpit where Tolle was sitting, causing the craft to explode._

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"Tolle…" Kira muttered as he remembered his friend's last moments, "Why…?"

"It's hard…" Ryo sighed, "Knowing that he's gone and all…" Kira nodded as he added, "And yet, even when I saw what was about to happen…we could do nothing but watch…" Kira was silent for a bit longer before something came to mind.

"Hey, Ryo," he said, "Exactly…what happened after that last battle? How did we end up at the Reverend Malchio's home in the first place?"

"Oh, that," Ryo blinked, "Well, it's not as clear as it used to be, but…I think it went something like this…"

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_Flashback_

"Ugh, man…..what the hell just happened…?" Ryo groaned as he dragged himself across what felt like the ground, "There was that…really bright flash and then…" Picking his head up, he looked around but quickly switched to moving his eyes, as twisting his neck around only served to send pain shooting down his spine. All he could see was debris littering the ground and the occasional smoke cloud rising from the sand. He could see the ocean now, as the explosion had probably blown apart much of the forest area they had been fighting in. Turning around, he gazed at the now ruined X Gundam and sighed, "Well…guess I won't be flying that thing for a while…" He chuckled a bit as he struggled onto his feet and thought, "Now where in the world is the…" He spotted the Strike a few yards away and trudged over to it, a splitting pain in his side flared up with each step.

"Dammit…must've broken some ribs…" Ryo thought, "Good thing I was wearing that safety harness…" Reaching the Strike, he slowly climbed up its skirt armor to reach the cockpit, where he called out, "Hey…Kira! You alright in there buddy?" There was no reply and so Ryo stuck his head into the gash in the cockpit to see for himself. Kira was there alright, but only physically, Ryo couldn't tell if he was dead or not. Taking his chances, he reached over and unclipped the harness before lugging Kira out of the Strike before going back down to the ground. Once there, he removed his helmet and tossed it aside, hearing a crack as the visor landed on some rocks. At that moment, a piece of debris fell down and buried the helmet beneath it. "….Ouch…" Ryo commented before getting Kira's helmet off as well. "Kira? Come on, man, say something…" Ryo said before being answered with a pained groan from the other pilot, "Well, at least you're alive…"

Knowing that staying here would not be a smart move, he lifted Kira's right arm over his shoulder and stood up, hoisting the unconscious pilot up with him. He had to struggle a bit, as he was still weak from the previous battle and his whole was screaming in protest at the added weight. "God…damn!" he swore as he plodded forward, with Kira leaning on his shoulder, "What the hell does this guy keep under his pilot suit?" As he trudged along, he considered just how lucky the two of them were to have escaped alive. Badly hurt, sure, but alive none the less. "Well…" he muttered, "Mu once wondered if it was the Strike or his body that was in top shape…I guess this proves that it's his body, eh heh…" His brief grin faded from his face and he trudge on, half carrying and half dragging Kira's limp form around. Finally, though, he grew too weary to continue and sat down near a rock, propping Kira up against it. "Geez…at this rate, we'll never get back to the Archangel in time…" he sighed, aimlessly picking up a rock and throwing it as he slouched over, "And what the hell happened to Athrun, I wonder…I saw him fly off on that fancy life support back of his…ah, he's probably floating around in the ocean somewhere…"

At that moment, his straying eyes landed on something that looked familiar and he sat up straighter to get a better look. Getting, up, he wandered over to it and stood a few feet away, trying to figure out what it was. "Is that…?" he thought when something clicked, "No…it can't be…" Ryo had just realized that he was staring at the burning remains of Tolle's Skygrasper. Well, most of it, anyway. The nose was gone and only one wing remained attached to the body. The Aegis' shield was still stuck where it had jammed into the cockpit, meaning the Tolle's body was still pinned to his seat. That is, what remained of his body. The explosion of his craft had taken off most of his left arm and Ryo could see a bit of charred bone sticking from the torn uniform. His whole head was missing and Ryo found it lying near a few rocks, still lodged in the surprisingly intact helmet. "Tolle…" he muttered and stumbled forward over to his friend's head, "Dammit, what…?" He dropped to his knees and gingerly picked up the helmet, staring at the face that was frozen with fear behind the cracked and broken visor. "Tolle…" Ryo choked, feeling tears slide down his face, "Not…not you too…" He felt something else that was wet hit his face and he looked up to see that the storm was starting again. Why he hadn't noticed it end earlier was beyond him.

Just then, he heard a rumbling sound in the distance and he turned just in time to see something large and white emerge from the trees. "Is that…the Archangel?" Ryo blinked before it occurred to him that they were being left behind. For a moment, he forgot all about the pain in his body as he scrambled up onto his feet and ran after it, shouting, "Hey! HEY! Wait up! We're still…." He was cut off when his foot caught on a protruding rock and he tripped, falling forward and landing in a puddle. "Damn…" he swore, watching helplessly as the ship flew off, "Didn't even send out a search party for us…thanks a lot,guys…" Grumbling about the lack of reliability of allies, he trudged back to the wrecked Skygrasper and peered into the cockpit. Something shiny dangling from the inside of Tolle's pilot suit caught his eye and he hesitantly reached for it, cringing a bit as he stuck his hand into the suit where Tolle's head used to be. "Sorry about this, Tolle," he muttered as he withdrew his hand, clutching something long in his fingers, "But…I don't think you'll be needing this anymore…" Rubbing the dried blood off on his pilot suit, Ryo held up the object to inspect it. It was a pair of dog-tags, the kind that was always issued to members of the army. Fingering the small trinket, he started walking off when a sudden thought occurred to him.

"I'm…forgetting something…" he mumbled and felt around before turning around and seeing Kira still slumped against the rock, "Oh…right…" A bit sheepishly, he went back and hoisted Kira up again, although it was a bit harder to do so this time even with the brief rest. Dragging Kira along with the dog-tags securely in his hand, he trudged through the muddy ground, occasionally stumbling. The storm had grown a bit more intense by the time Ryo had reached a long path through the trees and with no other option, he went along it. By and by, he felt himself getting weaker and he became increasingly aware of how everything was beginning to blur together before his eyes. Occasionally, his vision would sharpen again but then slowly return to its blurry state, further indicating his exhaustion. "If I can just…find…some shelter…." he panted, hitching Kira up higher on his back where he was now carrying him, "Hell, even a giant umbrella would be nice….with a nice bed…and a fridge…ah, who the hell am I kidding? Who in their right mind would live all the way out…here…?" Ryo's voice trailed off as a bolt of lightning lit up the darkening area and made something that looked vaguely like a log cabin off in the distance.

He strained his eyes, but his vision was so blurred by now that he could barely even tell the difference between the puddles and the ground they were scattered on. Deciding to risk it, he went forward, still carrying Kira on his back. A few agonizing minutes later, Ryo realized just how much trouble he was in right now. He was cold, wet, tired, and carrying his friend on his back didn't do much to help the situation. Suddenly, he tripped again and this time, his strength gave out and his arms moved, causing Kira to fall off and land on his side while Ryo fell on his front. "Well…damn…." he grunted, barely managing to make out the outline of a small cottage, "And I was…that close too…" The last thing he heard before succumbing to his fatigue was the sound of children calling out to someone…

_End Flashback_

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"There you are!" a cheery voice suddenly said, breaking Ryo from his thoughts, "May I join you two?" The two pilots looked to see Lacus coming down the steps, Haro close by.

"Oh, hey Lacus," Ryo nodded and turned back out towards the scenery, "I don't see why not. We were just looking out getting some air." Kira nodded and Lacus smiled before coming over to stand next to the brunette. The three of them stood there in silence for a little while before Kira sighed and leaned heavily on his arms.

"Your face…" Lacus said in a worried tone, "It always seems to be…sad lately…" Kira sighed again, listening to the gulls cry out overhead while the din of four other Haros badgering Okapi could be dimly heard in the background.

"It is sad…" Kira nodded slowly, recalling everything that had happened since the Heliopolis incident, "So many people…died, just like that…" A breeze made him pause a bit before he added, "So many…that I killed…" Ryo sighed a bit at this, knowing that he too had gone through that. Which was why he did nothing as Kira bowed his head, tears welling up in his eyes again, threatening to fall. All of a sudden, Lacus moved over and put a hand on the side of Kira's face, gently stroking his cheek with her palm.

"You did fight, but…" she said with a smile as Kira looked up at her, "There must also be many people that you saved with your own hands by doing so, and Ryo too. So…it's not a total loss…" Kira smiled a bit after hearing this, knowing that she was right. "But…" Lacus suddenly added, her face growing serious and Kira's smile vanished as well. Just as he was about to ask what was bothering her, however, Lacus suddenly smiled again and said completely out of the blue, "Oh, well, never mind that. Let's go eat for now. Come on, I'll go and warm it up again…" With that, she slipped an arm through Kira's and tugged Kira along.

"What the…?" Kira thought to himself, confused by her sudden change in attitude, and looked back at Ryo, who had a rather amused look on his face as he watched before flashing the brunette a thumbs-up and winking. Kira immediately understood what he was trying to say and felt his face grow warm as he blushed out of embarrassment.

"You really should get some more rest too," Lacus added, seeming oblivious to everything as Ryo also started walking behind them.

"Haro! Haro!" Haro chirped as it hopped off of the table it had been rolling around on, "I won't accept! I won't accept!"

"And Kira, you don't need to worry about the war for now," Lacus smiled in an assuring way, "It's still peaceful here."

"Yes, it is…" Ryo thought as he trailed behind and turned in time to see a bluebird land on the table behind them, "But…how long will it stay that way?"

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Meanwhile, in Alaska, something odd was happening in a small town. Although it seemed to be a normal day in the local bazaar, where people gathered dressed in their heavy clothes to buy necessities, a single man wearing a white coat walked through the streets, looking for someone. Although it was cloudy, he still wore a pair of dark sunglasses to conceal his eyes and they stood out against his long, blonde hair. Finally, he spotted the man he was looking for and approached him. The other man seemed to recognize him and when the two were close enough, he casually pulled his hand out of his pocket and handed the first man a small compact disk. "Is this it?" the first man asked.

"Yes, Commander Creuset," the second nodded, speaking softly, "This has the information that you were looking for."

"Hmm, very good," the first man, now revealed to be none other than Rau le Creuset, smirked and nodded his thanks before turning and walking away with his prize. At the same moment, the officers of the Archangel were still sitting in the same conference room they had been sitting in for the past hour. Captain Sutherland had plied the crew with many questions and so far, most of them were either about or referred to in some way the missing pilots Kira and Ryo.

"So, at this point…" Sutherland began, starting his next question, "You had already suspected this child, Kira Yamato, to have been a Coordinator?"

"Yes sir," Murrue nodded, recalling the instance when Kira had rewritten the Strike's O.S. on the fly, "Even though he was a student of a technical school at the time, he still managed to pilot the unit, which he had never been inside of, much more effectively than even the original pilots selected for the job. On top of that, he even adapted to our top secret GAT-X Number O.S. almost immediately and then rewrite it to better suit the situation. It would have been an impossible task for any Natural, student or not, and so it was easy to determine whether or not he was in fact a Coordinator."

"What were your initial thoughts after observing him first hand?"

"Well, needless to say…" Murrue said a bit hesitantly, "I was…quite amazed by his abilities…" At that moment, Mu could have sworn that he saw Sutherland smirk at the answer and he narrowed his eyes uneasily.

"Also, when the enemy Ginn self-destructed, you were knocked unconscious and then rescued by him and his friends," Sutherland continued, "Shortly after you woke up, you arrested all of them."

"Yes sir."

"Well, I can't say that your actions were not justified," Sutherland said, almost casually, "You were injured then, and had to retrieve the unit and regain control over the situation as quickly as possible. However, during the time you lost communication with the rest of your crew, the ZAFT Mobile Suit that Commander la Flaga was engaging entered the colony's interior. I can only say that it must have been bad luck, but at that time, the Strike and the other unit were being piloted by civilians that you didn't know much about. Coordinators, at that. You were, therefore, unable to control the situation, am I correct?"

"That's not it!" Mu suddenly exclaimed as he stood up, finally losing his cool, "At that time…!"

"We're simply confirming the truth, Commander la Flaga," Sutherland replied coolly, "So we would appreciate it if you refrained from speaking out with personal opinions." Mu frowned and sat back down as Sutherland continued, "Following that, Kira Yamato, without realizing its power, fired the 320 mm Agni impulse cannon. While he was successful in damaging the enemy Mobile Suit, it also rendered severe damage to the colony. Also, such a display of power gave the ZAFT forces an incentive to take action and so paved the way for them to assault the colony again."

"But that's just an assumption!" Mu said, standing up again, "It's got no evidence behind it!"

"I'll acknowledge that," Sutherland nodded as Mu sat down, "But you should also understand those who go to fight in a war. For example, if you were the commanding officer of a strike team and you just witnessed the power that the enemy possessed, would you leave such a thing alone?"

"No, sir…" Mu frowned, replying through gritted teeth.

"Are you saying that a counter-attack was the wrong thing to do, Captain Sutherland?" Murrue asked, starting to grow fed up as well.

"That's not what I mean," Sutherland replied, "All that I'm saying is that it was unfortunate for you to have been mixed in with a pair of Coordinator children." This last comment shocked the Archangel's officers, as they had never thought this was what Sutherland had been thinking.

"That's insane!" Murrue exclaimed, standing up just as Mu was about to as well, "If it weren't for them, then we would have-"

"If they weren't there, there is also a chance that Heliopolis would have never been destroyed," Sutherland interrupted, causing more than one temper to start boiling, "It's not good to attach an 'if' to such an extreme situation. However, what if he was a normal, Natural child who couldn't have rewritten the O.S.? If he hadn't boarded the Strike, then the results would have revealed themselves naturally. However, he did board it and now here we are. And weren't you the one who let him into the Strike, Commander Ramius?"

"So…are you saying that all of my decisions have been nothing but mistakes up until now?" Murrue asked, barely suppressing the anger in her tone as she clenched her hands tightly, even though they were folded on her lap."

"I don't think I have to remind you that we are fighting against the Coordinators, Commander Ramius," Sutherland said calmly, "With that 'marvelous power', that is. Even if they were civilian children, a Coordinator is a Coordinator. Even when you saw it first hand, why didn't you take note of it? The whole world is a mess because people like them even exist!" As the anger of the officers continued to build up, he continued, "Even after the Archangel escaped the demolition of the Eurasia Federation's stronghold, Artemis, it was present at the destruction of an advance force from the 8th Mobility Fleet. Soon after, you even allowed the 8th Fleet itself to be destroyed!"

"That's all a misunderstanding!" Mu snapped, standing up once more, "We were-"

"We were what?" Sutherland frowned.

"We were following Admiral Halberton's orders!" Murrue replied, also standing up.

"And I respect that," Sutherland replied, "However, I'm sorry to say that Admiral Halberton's will does not represent the will of the entire Earth Alliance. Since when did that happen?" Seeing the angered look on her face, he added, "Please calm yourself, Murrue Ramius; I never once said that everything that you did was wrong or a mistake. In fact, I think that you endured rather well…despite the severe conditions." He continued as Mu and Murrue sat down, "However, even with all of these sacrifices, we are now in a situation where the Archangel has lost both the Strike and the other unit that it was carrying. What is to become of the people who sacrificed their lives to ensure that they got here? Everything must be done precisely, so that the responsibilities of the battles can be made appropriately. I'm only saying that it must be done so that everyone can accept it." After a brief silence, he turned to the next file and said, "Very well then, let us continue…" As this was going on, the crew of the Archangel was once again trying to keep busy, as they had little to nothing to do.

"Hey, Kuzzey," Sai said in the cafeteria and held out a tray to the said boy, "Can you bring this to Flay for me?"

"Huh? Me?" Kuzzey stammered, "Why…?"

"Never mind," Sai replied, shaking his head and picking up another, "Of course, I understand if you don't want to." In all truth, Sai couldn't blame Kuzzey for being a bit nervous about being near Flay. Rumors about the whole incident with the captured Buster pilot had spread like a plague throughout the ship and everyone was talking about it. Naturally, the thought of a crazed Flay with a gun scared the already timid Kuzzey.

"Um, well, I could carry it if you want…" Kuzzey said, reaching for it.

"No, it's fine," Sai told him, sliding the other tray closer into his hand.

"Well, I'll carry it to her room then," Kuzzey suggested, "You can give it to her there." Sai had no other choice but to agree and so the two left the cafeteria. Soon, their discussion went back to the incident from the previous day and Kuzzey said at one point, "But seriously, of all the people to do something like that…who would've thought that it would've been Milly?"

"It was that ZAFT pilot's fault," Sai replied, "He probably said something stupid to her."

"Wasn't his name Dearka or something?" Kuzzey asked, "I think it was Dearka Elsman. So…what exactly did he say?"

"I don't know," Sai frowned and Kuzzey could tell that he was starting to get tired of the subject.

"Then…what do you think is gonna happen to us now?" Kuzzey said, "Now that we're here, it's over, right? Hey, this means that we can go home now, doesn't it?"

"I don't know about that either," Sai answered a bit irritably, "Ask the Captain when she comes back." Kuzzey gave him an annoyed look and neither of them spoke until they reached their room. When the door hissed open, however, they were greeted by silence and the sight of no one in the room. "Miriallia?" Sai called out, going in, "I brought you some food…" What Sai didn't know was that Miriallia had in fact left the room earlier and was now slowly edging her way through the dark prison. She wasn't entirely sure why she had gone there herself; she had just felt a sudden urge to get a closer look at the prisoner who called himself Dearka. In truth, she felt a bit guilty about trying to stab him, even if he had said something rather offensive. Her nerves on the edge, she was forced to take deep breathes to stabilize herself as she ducked behind a divider before slowly peeking around to get a glimpse of him. She could see his legs but nothing above his waist since the darkness shrouded his upper body. All of a sudden, he noticed her and sat up, startling her into turning to leave.

"Wait!" he suddenly called out and she slowly turned to look at him. Having not expected her to actually listen, Dearka found himself momentarily lost for words before he added, "Well, um…what I meant was, uh…" He juggled the words in his mouth a bit before saying, "I'm, uh, sorry…about what I said earlier…" He added as Miriallia looked back at him in a surprised way, "I…really didn't know that your boyfriend got killed back there…" After a slight pause, he then said, "About…your boyfriend. Where did he…well, you know…?" Miriallia was a bit surprised to hear that his tone was actually sincere instead of mocking like it was last time and decided to answer.

"He was…piloting a Skygrasper…" she replied slowly, "On the island…where you guys attacked us…"

"Skygrasper?" Dearka blinked, confused, "Um, you'll have to be a bit more descriptive with that…"

"A fighter plane…" Miriallia explained and then added for clarification, "A blue and white one?" Dearka wracked his brains for similar craft and then remembered fighting something like that.

"Did it have a big gun attached to it?" he asked, a bit apprehensive.

"Huh?" Miriallia blinked, now her turn to be confused, "Oh, um, no…that was a different one…" Dearka couldn't help but breathe an inaudible sigh of relief and relaxed a bit.

"Oh, well then…" he said with a slight smile, "It wasn't me…" With that, he folded his arms behind his head and lay back down. Miriallia stared for a bit, letting everything sink in. "So, um…" Dearka added, glancing up at her, "No hard feelings?" When he didn't get an answer, he said, "You know, if you came in here to kill me, then go ahead and kill me. Don't keep me waiting."

"No, that's not…" Miriallia stammered and Dearka couldn't help but grin a bit in amusement towards her awkwardness. Miriallia calmed down a bit and hint of a smile tugged at her lips as she said, "Um…so, why don't you…tell me a little about yourself?"

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"Very well then," Captain Sutherland nodded as the lights turned back on, "With this, we will conclude this inquisition. We thank you for your honest answers." With that, the head officers stood up as they put their caps on while Sutherland added, "I will give the Archangel its next assignment in due course. In the mean time, all crewmembers except for Commander Mu la Flaga, Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, and Crewman Second Class Alster, are to remain on standby until further notice." The officers of the Archangel, where were just getting up to leave as well, were surprised by this turn of events and some of them glanced at each other in confusion.

"Then, what about us?" Mu asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"The three of you will be receiving a transfer order soon," Sutherland replied, adjusting his cap, "Be sure to report to the Personnel Office by 8 a.m. tomorrow. That will be all for now."

"Wait," Natarle said, "Is Crewman Second Class Alster being transferred as well?"

"Did you not listen to what she said when she volunteered?" Sutherland asked.

"Well, yes…"

"The daughter of the esteemed Alster family…her words will help to bring out the deepest thoughts of many people," Sutherland explained and then added, "Along with a support fueled by anger. Her contributions don't necessarily have to be on the battlefield, so you can be assured that she will be quite safe." As the crew of the Archangel gave their superior a disapproving look, a certain bluenette was preparing for his own journey at ZAFT's Carpentaria Base. Athrun, despite his broken arm, which was hanging on its sling inside his uniform jacket, had finished packing his suitcase and after hoisting it off of the table with his good arm, walked out of the door, which he was glad was automatic. As he was walking through the hallways, however, he saw a familiar pair of icy blue eyes glaring at him as their owner leaned against a nearby window. Smiling a bit, he walked over to have a last minute chat with Yzak before he left. Meanwhile, up in PLANT, the sun was setting as the day drew to a close. Kira and Ryo were once again lounging around on the same patio as before watching the sunset while Lacus came down with a tray carrying tea on it. After setting it down on the table behind them, she walked up and stood next to Kira, who turned to look at her when she was by him.

"Just like this…" Lacus smiled, turning her gaze towards the other two, "Wouldn't it be nice if everything could stay this way?" Kira smiled a bit as well and Ryo just shook his head at the two and turned back to the sunset before the other two followed suit.

"Yes, it would," Ryo thought to himself as his face sunk into a small frown, "But soon…everything is going to change again…"

Phase 33: End

Author's note- Well, there you go. A little Dearka and Miriallia moment for the fans. Stay tuned for more!

To the reviewers:

Light of the Demons- Yes, Tolle was the Archangel's co-pilot.


	35. Seen and Unseen

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 34: Seen and Unseen

_May 5, C.E. 71, PLANT Supreme Council Chambers, Chairman Zala's office_

"Chairman Zala," Rau said to the Chairman via video phone, "We've finished positioning our forces for Operation Spit Break to begin. Now we only need your command to move out." Meanwhile, it was morning at the Clyne residence, and Kira and Ryo were outside enjoying the fresh air once more. Today, however, it was looking rather cloudy and the weather looked as if it promised rain.

"It's going to rain soon," Lacus said as she came up, almost as if on cue, with five Haros bouncing around her.

"Yeah, it does look like it," Kira nodded, glancing up at the gathering clouds.

"Why don't we go in now?" Lacus advised, "It won't be the same, but we can have tea inside."

"I'm game," Ryo shrugged and then glanced at the brunette, "Kira?"

"Sure," Kira smiled and got up before the three went to go in.

"Haro! I won't allow it!" the pink Haro chirped as it bounced along. Down on Earth, it was still sunset due to the few hour time-difference between PLANT and Earth. Athrun, who was now in the waiting room for his shuttle, was accompanied by Yzak, who had gone with him to see him off. At last, it was time for Athrun to leave but Yzak wasn't about to let him get off so easily.

"I'll be right behind you," he said, which was rather unlike him to say such encouraging words. It didn't last, though, as he added, "Pfft, I can believe a guy like you got into Special Forces. I hear they're even assigning you a new Mobile Suit." Athrun couldn't help but smile, as he didn't know if this would be the last time he ever saw his hot-headed companion again or not.

"Sorry for all the trouble I caused," Athrun smiled, a bit sheepishly, as he extended his good hand, "And thanks for everything." Yzak gave him another glare but nonetheless, took Athrun's hand and shook it, albeit a bit grudgingly before letting go. There was a brief pause before Athrun finally nodded and said, "Well…I guess I'd better be going…" With that, he bent down and picked up his suit case before walking past Yzak.

"I'm gonna be on Operation Spit Break! So don't be surprised if I get promoted up to your rank!" Yzak suddenly called out over his shoulder, "Hell, the next time we meet, you just might be serving under me! So you'd better stay alive long enough to see that day!"

"That's Yzak…" Athrun thought with a chuckle before nodding and replying, "Yeah, alright…"

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Hours later, up in the Earth's orbit, ZAFT's grand offensive was about to finally begin. Laurasia and Nazca class ships circled above the drop point while thousands of Ginns of all types and CGUEs hovered around them, entering their drop pods and preparing for their attack.

"The operation will commence as scheduled. All units are reminded to complete their part of the mission as quickly as possible."

"Landing teams are in position. Operation conditions are all green. Commencing final check on the laser communication lines!" The preparations weren't going on in just space. Down on the surface, the Carpentaria Base was also busy getting all of its forces mobilized. Carrier planes and Dinns launched en masse as the technicians saluted and waved the departing fighters good-bye, cheering and shouting cries of good fortune as they watched them go. Below the waters, Vosgulov submarines glided steadily through the depths to the designated target, carrying their own assault teams with them. In one particular submarine, Yzak sat in the cockpit of the fully repaired and restocked Duel, making last minute adjustments to the controls while Rau stood in the deck keeping an eye on his watch.

"It's currently 3:00. There's a report coming in from the surface teams. Weather in the 25th area is clear. Winds from north-north west at approximately 7.2 kilometers per hour. Temperature is currently 18.7 degrees Celsius." Up in the Central Command Center, Chairman Patrick Zala stood from his seat to give a formal address before announcing the start of the attack.

"As we embark on this operation, it is my sincerest wish that this will bring the war to a swift conclusion, inspiring the hope in us all that we will be able to obtain true freedom and justice!" Patrick declared and then extended both arms, "Let Operation Spit Break now commence!"

"Message from Central Command! Target of Operation Sigma code-name 'Spit Break' is…" the communications officer announced, "JOSH-A, Alaska!" At this last comment, almost the entire advancing force was thrown into complete confusion.

"JOSH-A?"

"It can't be…"

"Spit Break has just been initiated! The target is JOSH-A, Alaska!"

"What? Alaska?" Yzak exclaimed, "Earth Forces headquarters?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be Panama?" Even as the confused shouts went around, Yzak was among the first to regain his composure and even put on a smirk.

"Heh, well, that sounds like it could be fun. I've got to hand it to Chairman Zala, he really is pretty amazing…" he grinned.

"Yzak?"

"Those stupid Naturals think that we're gonna be attacking Panama, so they've moved all their forces over there, right?" Yzak smirked, "This is our best chance, right?"

"Well…"

"After this is done, it'll be all over…" Yzak said, even for those Naturals…" Although he was correct, Yzak didn't know that his observation was only part of the big picture.

"Well, good luck, Earth Alliance," Rau thought with a smirk, "After all…I did go through all the trouble of letting you people know what Operation Spit Break was all about…" He glanced down at his hand and added, "Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala…and Blue Cosmos Chairman Muruta Azrael…I hold the two of you in the palm of my hand. Humanity is destined for destruction now…just like two snakes eating each other's tails…" Lowering his hand, he let a low chuckle escape his lips, which went unnoticed by the others.

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"No! I'm not going!" Flay cried, struggling against Natarle's iron grip as she was dragged through the hallway, "Let go of me!" It had been three days after the inquisition and now, it was time for the two and Mu to leave the ship for their transfer. All of the other officers aside from Murrue, Sai, Miriallia, Kuzzey and Tiffa, were lined up outside of the door to see them off. Need less to say, though, no one was very happy with this turn of events. "Captain!" Flay exclaimed and finally managed to get Natarle to stop by jerking extra hard when she was about to pass Murrue, "Why is it just me?"

"Oh Flay," Sai sighed, Birdee perched on his shoulder.

"That's enough!" Natarle said sharply to her as Flay yanked her arm away from her, "These orders came directly from headquarters. You have no say in it."

"This is how it has to be," Murrue sighed, "If it came from headquarters, then I'm afraid that there's nothing that I can do about it. I could try negotiating with the Personnel Office about this, but…"

"There's no way that would work out," Natarle frowned, "I know that and I'm sure that you do as well." Murrue nodded gloomily and Natarle's face softened a bit as she set her suitcase down before saluting her, "Well then, I guess this is good-bye, Captain."

"I'd like to thank you for everything that you've done for us again," Murrue nodded, returning the salute, "Lieutenant Badgiruel."

"You're welcome," Natarle replied with a nod of her own.

"I hope that we can meet again someday," Murrue smiled, lowering her hand, "Someplace other than the battle field."

"It'll be possible once the war is over," Natarle reminded her, also lowering her hands.

"That would be nice," Murrue replied and then glanced at Flay, "Please take care of her."

"Right," Natarle nodded and then picked up her suitcase before taking Flay by the hand again, "Let's go."

"Ah! Hey!" Flay exclaimed as she was pulled along again, "Sai!"

"Flay!" Sai called out as Natarle pulled Flay through the doors, past the saluting officers, before Birdee chirped and flew off after them for a bit before returning to him.

"Maybe I should go down the Personnel Office," Mu offered, his cap lopsided on his head, "Give them a piece of my mind."

"I doubt it'll do any good," Murrue shrugged, although her smile was rather forced, "You heard Natarle. She's never wrong about these things."

"Yeah, she's aiming for the top alright," Mu nodded, "Not like me, I'm just going to be teaching in California. But still…telling me this suddenly seems a bit much to me…"

"Well, look on the bright side," Murrue smiled, her façade threatening to break now, "If you go and teach them…maybe we won't have so many new recruits dying out there." There was a slight pause as she swallowed a growing lump in her throat and added, "Hey, you'd better get going. You'll be late if you stay around any longer." Although this was true, Murrue was also hiding the fact that she wanted him to leave because the longer he stayed, the harder it would be for her to watch him go. Everyone on the ship liked Mu, for his personality, for his abilities as a leader, everything. Of course, Murrue had first found his ways to be rather annoying and childish but over time, she had grown used to it, even fond of his care-free attitude. Mu had grown attached to the ship's crew as well, being like a fatherly figure to the volunteer students and especially to Kira and Ryo, his fellow pilots. At Murrue last words, he nodded and then in a sudden outburst, tore his cap off of his head.

"This is just…rrgh!" he swore through clenched teeth, gripping his cap tightly.

"Thank you…" Murrue said, almost chokingly as her eyes started to sting while she saluted him, "For everything that you've done…" Mu sighed and then put his cap on properly before returning the salute.

"And the same to you…" Mu nodded, "Ma'am…" There was another silence before the two lowered their arms. "Don't die on me, okay guys?" he said, turning to the students, who also saluted him. They nodded, being too upset at seeing him go to find anything to say to him. After giving each one a brief pat on the shoulder, he steeled his nerves and walked out of the door, saluting each officer on his way out. If anyone had turned to look at Murrue, they would have easily seen tears well up in her eyes. Meanwhile, in the Joint Operations Room, Captain Sutherland was busy checking over the final preparations for his plan, which would be supported by the other members of the council.

"What's the situation?" he asked one of the technicians.

"Satisfactory," the technician replied, "Everything is in working order."

"Perfect," Sutherland grinned, "Everything will go as planned…and end that way…" Elsewhere, the Archangel was also receiving new information.

"Even though it's only a provisional measure, the New Model Mobile Assault Ship Archangel of the 8th Mobility Fleet will be under the command of the 5th Alaskan Defense Force under official orders from Captain William Sutherland."

"Sir!" Murrue nodded as all present officers saluted. It had been a few hours since the transferred party had left and the crew was receiving their new orders. Everyone, including the students, had gathered at the bridge to hear what they were doing next.

"Alaskan Defense Force?" Pal muttered from the corner of his mouth over to Chandra so that the other officers wouldn't hear.

"Well, the Archangel is more suited for space combat," Chandra replied as everyone lowered their hands, "Besides, it's more heavier armed than all of the other ships here. It'll be better for defense rather than assault."

"The ship will be receiving supplies tomorrow at 1400 hours," the officer concluded and put the file beneath his arm as he turned to leave, "That is all for now."

"Wait…" Murrue started.

"What is it?" the officer asked, turning back, "Do you wish to object?"

"It's not that, it's just…" Murrue replied, "We have some people on board who had requested discharge and vacation here and we still haven't heard anything regarding our prisoner either."

"I apologize, but I'm afraid that we're too busy to contend with your needs because of our preparations for the Panama siege," the officer said, "However, if it makes you feel better, I'll relay that to Captain Sutherland when I report to him." Meanwhile, the rain had finally begun to fall up in Aprilius City, where the Clyne residence was. While the birds took shelter in the trees, Kira, Ryo, and Lacus were inside the gazebo having tea with the Reverend Malchio. Or rather, Kira was sitting at the table with Malchio while Ryo stood to the side and Lacus sat on the floor playing with a few Haros.

"Do you like the rain, Kira?" Lacus asked, having noticed that Kira had been staring out of the glass walls for quite some time. Kira turned to look at her and she smiled as the pink Haro hopped into her hands. He couldn't help but smile a bit as well before turning back to the wall.

"I was just thinking how strange this all was…" Kira replied, gazing at the rain as Malchio took a sip from his cup, "I was wondering…why am I here?"

"If it were your choice, where would you want to be?" Lacus asked curiously while Malchio felt around for his saucer before setting his cup down on it.

"I…" Kira sighed, "I…really don't know."

"Do you…" Lacus said with a small hint of concern, "Dislike it here, Kira?"

"No, it's not that! It's just…" Kira stammered, flushing a bit before regaining his composure, "Is it okay…for me to even be here?"

"In my opinion, yes! Of course it's okay!" Lacus giggled while Haro spun around in her hands.

"The time will come when you realize where you need to be, and only then will you know what you should be doing," Malchio suddenly said to him and when all heads in the gazebo turned to him, he smiled a bit and added, "For that is what it means to be the bearers…of the SEED."

"There you go," Lacus smiled but Ryo still had a question in mind.

"Reverend Malchio," Ryo frowned a bit, "You keep referring to this…SEED whenever you talk to Kira and I. What exactly is it?" There was a brief pause before Malchio smiled again and turned his head to face Ryo.

"I wondered when you would ask," Malchio smiled, "The SEED is what separates you and your young friend, along with a select few others, from the rest of humanity. It is the only true connection between us and the next step to human evolution. Scientists and modern-day philosophers have long debated about the existence of this phenomenon."

"But how does it work?" Ryo asked, "What exactly does it do?"

"No one really knows," Malchio replied, "It is believed that the SEED will only awaken during moments of intense emotional stress. What the exact emotion is remains unknown, and whether or not it is exclusive to Coordinators or not does as well." While this was going on, Athrun was sitting in his seat on the shuttle, waiting for it to take off. Lifting his suitcase up onto his lap, he opened it and lifted his lap-top out. Before closing it, he took a look at what was also inside. The medal that he had been awarded, the Order of Nebula, lay in its case on top of the sheet music he had taken from Nicol's locker; he was keeping the latter as a reminder of his friend. As the shuttle finally began to move and eventually lifted off, Athrun found himself succumbing to sleep and finally closed his eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was still raining up in PLANT and Siegel Clyne had just returned home after having gone to see if any transportation to Earth was available for Reverend Malchio. So far, he hadn't had much luck. "It's still no good," he sighed as he entered the gazebo, "They're still saying that they can't give any departure authorization to anyone leaving for Earth until the weather clears up. I do apologize for this, Reverend Malchio."

"Perfectly alright," Malchio smiled, waving his hand dismissively, "I suppose it can not be helped." Siegel also nodded and turned to the others.

"You two are comfortable here, I hope?" he asked as the pink Haro bounced around Lacus.

"Oh, yes, we're fine, Mr.-" Ryo started but hastily corrected himself, "I mean…Representative Clyne…but really, we can't thank you enough for your hospitality."

"No need for formalities, at least not under my roof," Siegel laughed, "Besides, it's the least I can do for my old friend's only son."

"Mr. Clyne, sir, there's an incoming call for you from Mrs. Canaver. Would you like to take it now?"

"Play it in here, Foster," Siegel nodded and a small screen appeared on one of the walls, revealing a very stressed-looking Eileen Canaver.

"Bad news, Clyne," Eileen said hurriedly, "It appears that Zala's deceived us. We just received word of this and we don't know how long this has been going on but…"

"Hold on, now, Canaver, there's no need to rush," Siegel interrupted, his face growing serious, "Just calm down and tell me what's going on."

"Operation Spit Break has already begun, but it's true target isn't Panama!" Eileen exclaimed, "It's Alaska!"

"Alaska?" Siegel and all of a sudden, there was the tinkling sound of breaking china as Kira dropped his cup of tea onto his saucer out of shock, effectively smashing both, "You mean the Earth Alliance headquarters?"

"Kira?" Lacus blinked as she got up to go over to him while Ryo's eyes narrowed, "Kira, are you alright?"

"Yes, he's planning to take out the entire Earth Alliance with one fell swoop," Eileen nodded, "The Council didn't approve anything of this nature!"

"Kira…" Lacus said, taking the said brunette by the shoulders, "Kira?"

"I understand," Siegel replied with a nod, "I'll do my best to look into the matter. Until then, try to get as much on this as you can as well." With that, he cut the connection and sighed, massaging his temples with his fingers.

"Tsch, figures," Ryo snorted, drawing the attention of the others, "ZAFT's about to go down to Earth and I don't even have a Mobile Suit to do anything about it…not now they're practically at Alaska's front door…"

"Even if they do go down there, they'll still be outnumbered," Siegel reminded him, "They can't kill off the entire Earth Alliance in one go. There must be some other way…"

"The Archangel is in Alaska…" Kira suddenly muttered, "And our friends too…"

"Dammit! Why does this have to happen when we're _not_ down there?" Ryo growled, pulling at his hair, "I mean, yeah, I'm not in the mood to fight off the entire ZAFT army, but it's better than sitting up here doing nothing!"

"Let's not be rash," Malchio said, "I'm sure that a chance will present itself…"

"Yeah, well, if I'm not down there in a Mobile Suit by the end of today…" Ryo frowned, pacing around the gazebo anxiously, "There's gonna be trouble!" Meanwhile, down on Earth, Earth Forces officers that were being transferred were lining up at various submarines waiting to get on. Amongst them were Mu, Flay, and Natarle, who were rather puzzled by the unusually large numbers of people.

"Why haven't they given us permission to leave?"

"You think we're blocked in?"

"Where'd the Captain go?"

"Hey you! Get back in line!"

"What do you think is going on?" Mu asked, looking around at the crowd, his cap on crooked again.

"Maybe they're reinforcements for Panama," Natarle suggested before looking over Flay's shoulder at her transfer papers, "Your ship is over there. What about you, Commander?"

"Huh?" Mu blinked, having been looking around again, "Oh, uh, I'm going with the young lady. You know, to make sure she doesn't get lost or anything."

"I see," Natarle nodded and then set her suitcase down before snapping a quick salute, "Well then, good luck, Commander."

"Yeah," Mu smiled and extended his hand, much to Natarle's surprise, "You take care of yourself too, Lieutenant." Natarle blinked before reaching over and accepting the handshake, albeit a bit hesitantly. When it was over, Mu gave her a last nod and turned, tapping Flay on the arm to get her to follow him while Natarle looked at her hand for a bit before picking up her suitcase and walking away. Elsewhere, a small fleet of submarines was quietly gliding away from JOSH-A, carrying the top officers of the Earth Alliance.

"What's the situation in back at headquarters?"

"They've put three more vessels on the defensive."

"Do you think they can make it?" one of them asked Sutherland.

"No one would ever go for the center first," he replied, "They'll hold out long enough." Back at headquarters, Natarle had already boarded her ship, while Mu and Flay were waiting in line. However, the former was feeling a bit uneasy and quickly thought of a way to leave for a moment.

"Just wait in line here," he told Flay, handing her a few papers, "You'll have to show them your transfer papers when it's your turn before you can get on, okay?" As soon as Flay took them, though, Mu turned and started walking off.

"Hey! Wait!" Flay called out, confused, "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I think I forgot something," Mu said assuredly, "Don't worry, I'll be back in a second."

"Commander!" Flay exclaimed but Mu was already out of earshot.

"Something's not right here. I know that Panama's about to come under attack, but…" Mu frowned as he moved through the crowd, "We're leaving headquarters completely vulnerable." Meanwhile, up in orbit, the time had finally come for the ZAFT forces to move. After three days of reorganizing, they were ready to launch their forces.

"Prepare the landing capsule! Our target is JOSH-A, the Earth Forces' Supreme Headquarters!"

"Captain, we've initiated the plan!"

"Alright, let's get our Mobile Suits launched! Prepare to surface!" The ships hovering over the Earth began to release their atmospheric pods, each one containing four Mobile Suits. Even as they streaked downward, several Vosgulov submarines began to ascend to the surface to launch atmospheric models. Back at headquarters, the screens in the Joint Operations Room began to show arrows heading towards their borderline. However, even as they began to cross it, the room was suspiciously empty. At that moment, the alarm began to sound, indicating that intruders had penetrated their border, startling everyone present. Mu abruptly in the middle of his running, causing his cap to fall off of his head while Flay looked around nervously as clamorous mutters rose up from the waiting room. On the Archangel, the bridge crew glanced at one another in confusion. Outside, however, the first of ZAFT's drop-ships had arrived and as they passed over the border, their rear hatches began to open, revealing the Mobile Suits inside. Each contained a squad of Ginns lead by a lone CGUE, one Ginn on each carrying a bazooka. In response, the automated defense artillery turrets installed into the base rose up and opened fire while small missile silos also unleashed their payload on the incoming army. Although a few Mobile Suits were shot down, twice as many turrets were destroyed by the time they began to approach the ground.

"Attention headquarters! This is Artillery Unit 304! We're being attacked by an army of ZAFT Mobile Suits!" an officer exclaimed, "There're tons of them! We need back up no-!" He was promptly cut off, however by a shot from the railguns of an incoming squad of BuCUEs. In the depths, the Vosgulov submarines opened their own hatches, revealing the GOOhNs and ZnOs concealed inside before the said aquatic Mobile Suits launched as well. Up in the sky, swarms of Dinns followed behind the Duel, riding on a Guul, along with Rau's custom-painted white Dinn.

"We've got Mobile Suits coming down from above too! There are way too many to count!" On the Archangel, the crew was still trying to figure out what all the commotion was when a message came in.

"Incoming message from the Joint Operations Room!" Tonomura announced.

"Captain Sutherland! What's going on out there?" Murrue asked as the screen appeared.

"All units are to take their positions and return fire!" Sutherland replied, "They've tricked us…at the last minute they switched their target here to JOSH-A! Captain Ramius, I want you to bring the Archangel around to protect the main gate!"

"What?"

"If they break through there, it will be all over!" Sutherland explained, "Don't worry, we've already called for reinforcements from Panama."

"Yes sir! The Archangel will defend the main gate!" Murrue saluted and cut off the link.

"Yeah, hang in there, guys," Sutherland grinned, "At least long enough to keep the ZAFT busy…" Outside, the battle was just beginning to heat up. Defense turrets and descending Ginns alike went up in flames as the two sides traded fire with one another. GOOhNs and ZnOs fired their torpedoes at the sea-wall to weaken it for the invading force. Inside, panic was starting to ensue as everyone hurried for their ships to leave.

"Everyone hurry up and get on!"

"What's going on?"

"Was it an accident?"

"What's head quarters have to say?"

"Archangel…" Flay thought and then without a second thought, broke off from the line and hurried back the way she thought she had come from.

"Dammit! What the hell is going on here?" Mu wondered out loud as he hurried through the darkened corridors and got into a lift, "This place is completely deserted!" Outside, the battle only continued to escalate. All of the Danilov and Arkansas-class warships still at the base were desperately trying to fight off the invaders, but they were having little luck. The Duel continually flew about, using its Shiva railgun and missile launchers to destroy the bridges of several ships while the GOOhNs and ZnOs occasionally popped up to the surface to shoot torpedoes at them. Rau le Creuset was also wreaking havoc on the fleet, his white Dinn seemingly untouchable to the guns of the Earth Forces.

"Well then," he smirked, "It's time I showed you who the main character on this stage really is!"

"Telling us to fight back with so few forces isn't really to my liking," Murrue sighed in the Archangel, "But…we can't let them have head quarters no matter what!"

"Captain?" Neumann blinked, swiveling around in his seat.

"All hands, Level One Battle Stations!" Murrue ordered, "The Archangel will move out and go to the defense of the main gate!"

"No way!" Kuzzey muttered, "We don't even have Kira, Ryo, or Commander Flaga with us! How are we supposed to make it out there?" Murrue's response was to sigh and wait for the gate to come down.

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Up in PLANT, the rain had cleared up, but Kira and Ryo were still uneasy. They knew that by now, the battle had begun and were busy discussing what they could do. As they were talking, Lacus walked into the gazebo and heard them.

"Look, all I'm saying is that we've got to do something," Ryo said, "Even without the Gundams, it's still worth a shot…"

"Kira?" Lacus spoke up, drawing their attention, "Ryo? What are you two whispering about?" The two pilots glanced at each other and Ryo sighed while Kira gazed at Lacus for a bit. Just looking at her innocent demeanor and the thought of how much she had done for them made him tear up again. "Kira?" Lacus blinked, noticing the tears, "What…?"

"It's time…" Kira explained, "We left here…Ryo and I…"

"Not that we're tired of this place," Ryo added, "It's just…we need to get going…"

"Where were you thinking of going?" Lacus asked.

-----------------------------

A descending Ginn fired its assault rifle wildly, only to have its leg blown off by artillery fire, causing it to stumble and fall upon landing.

-----------------------------

"We have to go back to Earth…" Kira replied, "Somehow…"

-----------------------------

A BuCUE emptied the missile launcher on its back into the turrets while a nearby ZuOOT fired its dual heavy cannons at a cliff-face, showering the defenders with rocks and debris.

-----------------------------

"But why?" Lacus blinked, a bit concerned, "Even if you two go, you can't end the war by yourselves."

"We know," Kira nodded, "But…we can't just sit here…doing nothing."

-----------------------------

Rau's white Dinn wheeled and looped through the sky, effortlessly dodging missiles and bullets alike from the defenses near the waterfall in front of the main gate. Using the Dinn's heavy assault machine gun, he blasted apart the missile launchers and flew straight into the waterfall, flying into a small passage big enough for a Mobile Suit. "Hmph," he muttered with a small grin, "It would appear that Azrael's information was…correct…" Inside, Flay was still stumbling around in the corridors, occasionally being thrown against the wall due to the shock of an explosion.

"Where in the world is the…Archangel…?" Flay muttered, "Where's…I…"

-----------------------------

"If you just did nothing…because you thought it wouldn't help, then you would've done less than nothing…" Kira added, "For nothing would change…nothing would end…"

-----------------------------

"Launch Archangel!" Murrue ordered and the ship's thrusters powered up and then activated under the water, slowly moving the ship forward towards the battle.

-----------------------------

"Will you be fighting ZAFT again?" Lacus asked worriedly but when Kira shook his head, she added, "Then…the Earth Forces?" Again, Kira shook his head and now, Lacus was quite confused. At that moment, her father came in just as she asked, "Then…who will you be fighting?"

"I believe that…I now have a better understanding," Kira smiled, "Of what we should be fighting against."

"What's all this about?" Siegel asked, startling everyone, "I hope you're not planning something behind my back."

"No, father, it's not that," Lacus giggled and then turned back to Kira and nodded, "Very well, I understand." Siegel was still confused and so Ryo stepped in.

"ZAFT isn't our enemy anymore, but that doesn't make us allies with them either," Ryo explained, "There are plenty of Natural and Coordinators…and by that, I mean soldiers on both sides, who don't want this war to go on any longer." Gazing around the room, he added, "Our real enemies…are the ones who only care about victory…the ones who don't care how many lives, civilian or soldier, that are wasted on the battle field while they sit back and watch. Those are the people we're fighting against now." There was a brief silence before he added, "Besides…I made a promise to someone down there…and I'm not one to go back on my word…" At this, Siegel and Lacus glanced at each other briefly and then, to the confusion of both Ryo and Kira, Lacus nodded and Siegel returned it before returning his attention to them.

"If that's really how you feel, then…" Siegel said, "There's something that I would like the two of you two have."

-----------------------------

By now, Rau had penetrated deep into the base and was now just outside the main complex. Having gotten out of his Dinn, which he had landed in a safe area, he took a quick look around to make sure no one else was there and hurried inside. However, his presence wasn't completely undetected. Mu, who had been wandering around, had suddenly felt a tugging on the back of his skull and stopped, glancing around warily. "That presence!" he frowned, "Is it…Rau le Creuset?"

-----------------------------

"Please put these on, you two," Lacus smiled, gesturing at two trays being held by a butler.

"Whoa!" Ryo exclaimed and picked up the contents of one before holding it out at arm's length, "Are these genuine?" Ryo was currently holding a red ZAFT uniform jacket, although he wasn't really sure who Lacus had gotten her hands on them.

"Yes," Lacus giggled, "These are completely authentic ZAFT elite uniforms. These will help you get back to Earth."

"Wow, Tolle wasn't kidding when he said that ZAFT had better uniforms," Ryo said as Kira took his as well, "These are way cooler than the blue Earth Forces coats we used to wear. Do we get to keep these?"

"If you wish, then I don't see why not!" Lacus laughed, "You two go on and change into these. My father will have a car waiting when you come out." The two nodded and as they went off, Lacus turned to the butler and added, "I'd like you to inform them that from now on, Lacus Clyne will be singing the song…of peace…"

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"Well…" Rau grinned, "What do we have here?" After a little while of sneaking around, Rau had finally found himself in the Joint Operations Room and was taking a peak at what was on the computers. Currently, he had uncovered the blueprints for something that the Earth Alliance had been planning to use during the battle but just as he was about to continue looking, he noticed a shadow next to the screen and swiftly drew his handgun before turning and firing off two shots. Mu, who had followed his senses to track down Rau, quickly ducked back behind the doorway to avoid getting hit and then moved in as Rau fired another two times while on the run. Finally, the gun fight came to an end when Mu ducked under a desk and Rau had gotten behind a door frame. "It's been a while, Mu la Flaga," he chuckled, "I don't have any time for fooling around. Though we've just met each other again, I apologize for leaving so soon. Although if you're still around, then your usefulness for the Earth Forces must be nearly at an end." As Mu pondered over this, Rau added mockingly, "Oh, Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen!" After another two shots, Mu stood up and pointed his gun at where Rau had been, only to find him gone. Disgruntled, he walked over to the screen, curious as to what Rau had been looking at. Almost immediately, curiosity turned to shock and anger and he hurried out of the room.

"No way…" he muttered. Meanwhile, Flay was still trying to figure out which hallway would take her to the Archangel when all of a sudden, she heard shouting from all around her.

"The ZAFT forces are here!" someone shouted and then at the sound of gunfire, Flay quickly ducked into a small doorway before a shot directly behind her startled her. She turned just in time to see an officer get shot through the chest and as the body dropped, it fell towards her and she screamed as she tried to get away. Unfortunately, she couldn't see that well in the dark and ended up falling over the body into plain sight as Rau came into view, his gun in hand. Now frantic with terror, Flay spotted the dead man's gun and hurriedly picked it up, pointing it at Rau.

"Well now…" Rau chuckled, "This is interesting…" Upon hearing him speak, however, Flay was shocked to discover that he sounded just like…

"Daddy?" Flay gasped and as Rau gave her a confused look, which was hard to see due to his mask, she leveled the gun in her hand and added, "That's…that's my daddy's voice…" Seconds later, she fired but Rau had already moved out of the way. In an instant, he rushed forward and slammed his fist into a pressure point, effectively knocking her out cold.

"Heh…so they were even prepared to sacrifice this young girl…" Rau smirked, "It appears that the Earth Forces is as cold-hearted as we are…heh heh…"

-----------------------------

"No, no, you do it like this…" Lacus giggled and held her hand up almost parallel to her face. Kira and Ryo, now fully dressed in ZAFT uniforms, slowly did the same, trying to get the positioning right. "There you go!" Lacus smiled, "This is how you salute in ZAFT!"

"Sheesh, these guys even salute differently," Ryo thought as he put his hand down.

"Why don't you two practice that a little?" Lacus beamed, "I'm sure you'll have it completely down pact by the time we get there." Upon hearing this, the two pilots glanced at each other and Ryo couldn't help but sweat-drop at her enthusiasm.

-----------------------------

"Fire Wombats and Valiants!" Murrue shouted as the Archangel slowly left the dock. This battle was going to be different from previous ones, since they didn't have Natarle to man the CIC. Because of this, Murrue was stuck doing just about everything on the bridge. Already, the ship had all of its Igelstellung guns blazing as it moved out. Several missiles shot out from its large launchers and the Valiant guns launched their own payload upon the invaders. An unfortunate Dinn managed to get hit by a missile and turned to flee, only to get demolished by the Igelstellung bombardment.

-----------------------------

"This is where we split up," Siegel said as they entered the airbase, "Ryo, you come with me. Lacus, I trust you can take your friend on your own?"

"Yes father," Lacus nodded and tugged Kira's arm, "This way, please."

"Um, where exactly are we going?" Ryo asked as they stepped into a pressurized area, where the artificial gravity was turned on, "What is this place?"

"This is where you'll be getting your ride to Earth," Siegel replied and Ryo could've sworn that he saw him wink as they floated along the corridor.

"Hey, are you sure we're allowed in here?" Ryo blinked, glancing at the sign that read "Restricted Area", "Because I really don't think…"

"Well, it pays to be the former Chairman," Siegel laughed and Ryo sweat-dropped again and decided to stay quiet. Meanwhile, Lacus and Kira had also entered a restricted area, but none of the guards seemed to take any notice to them. Kira was surprised when Lacus bid two of them a good afternoon and they simply saluted, which Lacus and Kira returned. Soon, they arrived at another door, guarded by two technicians. At a nod of Lacus' head, the two guards took out a key-card each and swiped them through the slots, opening the doors.

"Follow me," Lacus said to Kira and the two floated inside. It was very dark and at first, Kira couldn't help but wonder if Lacus even knew where she was going. Soon, however, he felt her stop moving and he felt a platform beneath his feet. In a separate area, Siegel had lead Ryo past several guards as well and then into another dark room. Then, at almost the same exact moment, the lights in the rooms flickered on to reveal what was in it. When they saw them, Kira and Ryo both had moderately similar reactions.

"A-A Gundam?"

-----------------------------

"…Why does it have a mustache?" Ryo wondered. Standing before both of them was a brand new Mobile Suit that Kira slowly realized looked a bit like the Strike aside from a few differences. First off, the whole design was much sleeker, the shoulders longer, and the Igelstellungs weren't inside the vents any more. Also, the beam rifle and shield looked different and he could see two beam saber handles attached to the very large side skirts. What Kira really noticed, though, were the large wings attached to the back, which seemed almost as large at the Mobile Suit itself and the crest in the middle of its V-fin had the words "X10A 'Dieci'". For Ryo, the first thing that stood out were the two plates of armor attached to the sides of the face plate. His new suit now had two beam swords attached to the hip armor and had a separate shield and beam rifle, while the crest on his read "X99A 'DX'". "Well, at least I won't have to keep switching modes anymore," Ryo thought as he glanced at it, "But why does it look like it's got a jet stuck to its body?"

-----------------------------

"Actually, that's not what it's called," Lacus giggled at Kira and then turned to look at the machine, "This is the ZGMF-X10A Freedom." Turning to Kira again, she added with a laugh, "But you know, 'Gundam' is much better because it sounds more powerful!" Looking at it again, she went on, "It's one of ZAFT's latest model. Under orders from Chairman Zala, they built a new unit that had the abilities of the Earth Forces' Mobile Suits. And when they were done, they added state-of-the-art technology!"

"But…" Kira blinked, "This is…why are you giving this to me?"

"I believe that this machine will give you the power that you're going to need," Lacus smiled, "For neither will alone, nor strength alone, will be enough. Sometimes, you'll need a bit of both."

-----------------------------

Rau's white Dinn could be seen speeding out of the waterfall, away from the battlefield. Inside the cockpit, though, he wasn't alone. After having knocked out Flay, he had taken her prisoner and brought her onto his Dinn. Down below, a Ginn used its assault rifle to destroy two combat vehicles that were aiming their missile launchers at it. And on the ocean, the Archangel's Igelstellung guns rotated to follow a salvo of missiles launched at it, effectively shooting the projectiles down.

-----------------------------

"Will this take you to where you need to be?" Lacus asked, "Will it help you when you get there?" Kira paused as he looked upon the new weapon being given to him.

"Neither will alone…" he muttered, "Nor strength alone…" After another thoughtful pause, he turned back to Lacus.

-----------------------------

"Dammit!" Mu grumbled as he ran across the base looking for an aircraft, "Where's a hangar when you need one?"

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"Who are you, really?" Kira asked.

"I'm simply Lacus Clyne as you are…" Lacus smiled, "Kira Yamato."

"I'm grateful…" Kira smiled after a third pause.

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Another two assault vehicles were destroyed by the descending Ginns while the Earth Forces began rolling out their heavy tanks to combat the new threat.

-----------------------------

"So you're saying that this thing has been here for how long?" Ryo asked, looking over his new Mobile Suit.

"For a few years," Siegel replied, "It was almost finished before you awoke from your coma."

"I see," Ryo nodded, "What's it called?"

"Your father originally called it the GX-9901 Double X," Siegel said, "Over the years, we kept the name, but we changed the serial number to ZGMF-X99A to better suit the design." He continued, "Your father had it constructed after the completion of the original X model. It was originally to be a command unit of sorts but…after a while, everyone just forgot about it."

"And you're trusting me with this because…?"

"It's my responsibility," Siegel explained, "Since your father created this Mobile Suit, it's only right for you to have it. After all, you are his direct descendant."

"I guess it makes sense," Ryo shrugged, "But are you sure it's okay? I mean, this could be considered treason, couldn't it?"

"Is it so wrong to return something that rightfully belongs to someone else?" Siegel asked and Ryo couldn't help but agree with his logic, "You'd better get suited up. You'll need to wear one if you're going into the atmosphere." Ryo nodded but before he left to change, Siegel dug into his pocket and handed something to him. "Here," he said, "You'll need this to activate the Mobile Suit. And this is something your mother wanted you to have." Looking down, Ryo saw that he was holding another flash-drive and what looked like a toy ray-gun. Shrugging, he took the items and hurried off to change. Moments later, both he and Kira were in pilot suits and ready to leave.

"Hey, Clyne," Ryo called out as he was about to climb into the cockpit, "Watch your back after this, okay?" Siegel nodded and bade him good luck before leaving.

-----------------------------

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Kira asked as he hovered over the Freedom's open cockpit with Lacus, "I mean…"

"Don't worry," Lacus smiled, "I'll be singing the song of peace."

"Just be careful, alright?" Kira nodded with a smile.

"You too," Lacus giggled and then added, "Kira…" She drew closer and then muttered into his ear, "Here is my strength…" With that, she gave him a peck on the cheek, causing both of them to flush a brilliant red when she drew back. Kira looked at her in amazement for a second before nodding again. "Well then," Lacus smiled, "Be on your way…" With that, she pushed off of him and floated back to the platform while Kira climbed in, putting on his helmet. As soon as the cockpit hatch closed, he booted up the system and watched as the main screen flashed to life.

"Mobile Suit Neo Operation System. Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Module complex." As he strapped himself in, various other screens lit up too and Kira soon discovered that unlike the Strike, the Freedom's cockpit actually orb-shaped and showed a full 270 degree view of what was in front of him and to his sides. Meanwhile, Ryo was also checking out his new Mobile Suit, the Double X, and reading some of its technical specs.

"Twin Satellite Cannons?" he blinked, "Damn…this thing as twice as much firepower as the X did…and what's this about the…G-Falcon…" As it turned out, the GS-9900 G-Falcon was a unique kind of fighter that could be piloted via remote control or manually and could be used as either an air-craft or a transformable armor booster. Basically, it could be combined with the Double X to form a Mobile Armor mode or give it extra weapons. In this mode, the Double X stayed in Mobile Suit mode while the two halves of the G-Falcon attached to its front and back. The Mobile Suit's wings folded down 90 degrees while its Twin Satellite Cannons folded up and forward and could be used as beam cannons in this mode. The G-Falcon itself was equipped with two beam cannons of its on the tips of its wings and two machine guns on the sides of the cockpit as well as a few missile launchers. Another feature was that the Double X could use the G-Falcon as an atmospheric platform. The Mobile Suit itself had a pair of breast-launchers on the sides of the cockpit that were somewhat similar to the new "Picus" vulcan guns stored in the head. It also carried a pair of hyper beam swords, upgraded versions of the old one used by the X. Also present were numerous energy collectors that were used to store power for the Twin Satellite Cannons but unlike the X, it was able to cancel its firing sequence and instead convert the energy to other systems.

Possibly the most odd feature of the Double X, though, was the object that Siegel had given Ryo. At first, it didn't appear to have much use, but Ryo soon discovered that it was actually a control stick that was inserted into a small port on the arm rest. The stick was necessary in order to not only pilot the Mobile Suit, but also to activate and use its Twin Satellite Cannons. Ryo had jokingly called it the Double X's "ignition" when he found out just how it worked.

As for the Freedom, it appeared to be a highly upgraded version of the Strike. Its skirt armor was actually a pair of "Xiphias" railguns that could be unfolded for firing mode and also stored its pair of "Lacerta" beam sabers. It also had a pair of Picus guns on its head and a new "Lupus" beam rifle, as well as an updated shield with a small hole he could shoot from while ducking behind it. The wings, which could be spread into about five pairs, aka "HiMAT" (High Mobility Aerial Tactics) mode, housed a pair of powerful "Balaena" plasma beam cannons. All four guns could be deployed at once and with the Freedom's special multi-targeting computer, it was quite a force to be reckoned with. However, what caught the attention of the pilots most was the power source for their Mobile Suits.

"N-Jammer Cancellers?" Kira gaped, accessing the technical specs. of the Freedom, "Amazing! It has over four times the power of the Strike!"

"Wait a minute, Kira," Ryo frowned, having connected to the Freedom's comm. channel, "If this thing runs on nuclear energy, then wouldn't that mean…all of ZAFT can run on it too?"

"Yeah…"

"Think about it, Kira," Ryo said, "If ZAFT has nuclear power now, then wouldn't that mean that they'll eventually be able to use nuclear _weapons_ too?"

"You're right!" Kira exclaimed, catching on, "But…if this gets into the hands of the Earth Forces…"

"If that happens," Ryo frowned, "Then this conflict could escalate into a full scale nuclear war…" There was a brief pause before Ryo added, "Which is exactly why we're not gonna let anyone capture these, right Kira?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded and then turned to see Lacus waving from the door of the hangar from his camera. The two pilots then reached over and pushed a button on their dashboards, activating the Phase Shift Armor of their Mobile Suits as wires and cable detached from them with explosive force. "Neither will alone…nor strength alone…" Kira thought as he pushed a lever forward and the Freedom's thrusters began to warm up, light seeming to emit form its wings, "Thank you, Lacus…I've made up my mind…" He zoomed camera in just as the door to the hangar began to close, up to Lacus' face as she smiled at him.

"Hey, what's going on?" a technician exclaimed as an alarm sounded.

"The Freedom! It's moving out! Something's going on in the old hangar too!"

"Seal the airlocks! Notify headquarters! Scramble!"

"Identify yourself! Shut them down!" one of them demanded over the comm. as the doors over the two Mobile Suits began to open one by one.

"I'll identify myself alright!" Ryo laughed into his, "I'm Ryo Mouri! And I'm taking back what my father left behind!" With that, he jammed his foot on the accelerator and the Double X shot up through the tunnel above it while the Freedom did the same. Outside, two Ginns that hadn't been sent on Operation Spit Break were busy patrolling around when all of a sudden, two streaks of light shot out from a dock and barreled right towards them. A few seconds later, a pair of white blurs zoomed past them, leaving the pilots completely flabbergasted.

"Whoa!"

"What kind of Mobile Suit was that?" Eventually, they got their bearing together and took off after them but by now, the Freedom and Double X were already far ahead. Seeing that they were way too slow to catch up, the two Ginns opened fire with their assault rifles, which the two Gundams easily dodged.

"Back off! Just let us through!" Kira shouted into his comm. before his radar acted up and his screen showed two more Ginns coming in from ahead of them, both firing their assault rifles. Again, they were no match for the sheer speed of the two Gundams as they veered off to avoid them.

"These guys are…"

"Fast!"

"These guys just can't take hint!" Ryo sighed and both Mobile Suits stowed their beam rifles on their rear skirt armors before the Freedom drew a Lacerta saber, the Double X a hyper beam sword, "Sucks to be them!" As soon as they were close enough, both the Freedom and Double X slashed at the two Ginns with their respective weapons, severing their heads and right arms but leaving them otherwise intact. As the pilots watched in awe and confusion the best they could, as their main screens had been reduced to static, the two Mobile Suits put their sabers away and took their beam rifles back out. "Whoa! Zero to Mach 5 in seven seconds!" Ryo exclaimed, "I'm liking this!" With that, he hit a switch and the two segments of the G-Falcon separated from the Double X, revealing a black torso with a section made of green glass that was meant to absorb energy for the Twin Satellite Cannons. The Double X then straightened out and the aft portion of the G-Falcon clamped onto its lower torso while the forward portion attached to the head, the Twin Satellite Cannons pointing forward and the wings, which usually pointed up in Mobile Suit mode, rotated 180 degrees down. "Hey Kira!" Ryo called out, "Hop on, we'll make it to Earth quicker this way!" Kira nodded and maneuvered the Freedom over so that it was directly over the Double X, now in Mobile Armor mode, and then securely planted its feet onto its back.

"Um…are you sure this is safe?" Kira asked, suddenly worried.

"Of course! Sort of…" Ryo said and then finally admitted, "No…" Kira sweat-dropped and almost didn't see the shuttle pass by the two. However, if either of them had looked closer, they would have seen Athrun staring out the window at the blur that just passed by. "Let's go, Kira!" Ryo laughed and then sang, "_For a better tomorrow, todaaaaaaaayyyyy!_" Kira couldn't help but laugh and smiled as they sped on towards Earth, where he knew people were waiting for them.

Phase 34: End

Author's note: Officially my longest chapter. Ever.

To the reviewers:

Ominae- He knew it existed, just not what it was called.


	36. The Descending Sword

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X. Superman is copyright to DC Comics. Don't ask.

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Phase 35: The Descending Sword

_May 8, C.E. 71, Earth Forces Supreme Headquarters "JOSH-A", Earth_

As the two pilots streaked back towards the Earth, it seemed almost hopeless for the defenders down in Alaska. Turret after turret was being demolished by the more agile Dinns, which easily dodged the missiles and bullets shot at them. Not even the Earth Forces' fighter jets, the F-7D Spearheads, could match up to them and were shot down almost as easily. However, ZAFT was also taking its share of casualties, most due to lucky hits because the pilots weren't paying close enough attention to their surroundings. However, the Earth Forces, while having more fighters, were rapidly losing numbers and even still, more and more ZAFT Mobile Suits kept coming. "Mayday! MAYDAY!" one Spearhead pilot shouted, only to be shot down after being double-teamed by a pair of Dinns. By now, the Vosgulov submarines had surfaced to join the battle, using their anti-air missile launchers to shoot at the nearby Earth Alliance ships. The defending fleet could only use their own weapons to shoot down as many missiles as they could but this proved to be costly when the aquatic Mobile Suits, the GOOhNs and ZnOs, surfaced to attack the distracted ships. A few ZnO pilots were even bold enough to jump onto the ships' hulls, where they used their massive claws to smash the bridges and then fired the palm-mounted phonon maser cannons directly through it to effectively render the ship useless.

"Wombats, aim! Fire!" Murrue cried and the Archangel fired another salvo of missiles at the approaching Mobile Suits, managing to destroy a few that were riding Guuls.

"Missiles approaching!" Tonomura warned, being hard-pressed due to the sheer amounts of projectiles being thrown at them.

"Evade!" Murrue ordered and Neumann and Tiffa, now sitting in Tolle's old seat, quickly acted to move the Archangel out of the way. They were only partially successful, though, as one missile managed to hit the hatch of the right linear catapult and blow a hole right into it.

"Direct hit to the starboard linear catapult!" Chandra announced. On the ground, some of the aquatic Mobile Suits were beginning to come up onto land to cause more trouble. The ZnOs had no trouble with the assault vehicles, using their claws to smash them to pieces and their missile launchers when necessary. The GOOhNs, however, presented much larger targets, being slower and clumsier on land, and quite a few were quickly destroyed by the linear tanks. Meanwhile, Spearheads were being launched as quickly as they could in order to provide aerial support but they were under such heavy fire that several were shot down the moment they left the hangar. Down below, the linear tanks and ZuOOTs were locked in a devastating fire-fight, each side trying to wipe out the other first.

"Fire! Keep firing!" the squad leader ordered, "Send those ZuOOTs straight to hell!" At first, the linear tanks were moderately successful against the slower ZuOOTs but the tables soon turned when the more agile BuCUEs came rushing into the scene. The sluggish tanks were no match for the Mobile Suits and quickly fell victim to their missile launchers and railguns, a few were even destroyed by their head-mounted beam sabers. "Concentrate your fire on the BuCUEs!" the squad leader shouted frantically when all of a sudden, his tank, along with several others, was destroyed by the beam rifle of the Duel, which was passing overhead with a few Ginns.

"Tsch, what a boring neighborhood," Yzak sighed, having lost the initial rush of adrenaline a while ago, "Is this all?" Just then, he looked down just in time to see a BuCUE keel over after its leg was disable by a fierce volley of missiles. "Oh brother…" Yzak said with a cluck of his tongue and practically rolled his eyes as he destroyed the offending missile trucks with the Duel's Shiva railgun and missile launchers. Meanwhile, Mu was zipping around on a motorcycle that he had found earlier, speeding through the currently empty streets. Although he was focusing on getting to the nearest hangar as quickly as possible, he still couldn't shake the image of what he had seen on the screen earlier from his mind.

"No way…" he muttered, "Dammit, how could they…" Moments later, he skidded to a stop inside a lift and got off before hurrying over to close it. On the battlefield, two more of the Earth Forces' warships were blown to pieces by either torpedoes or the airborne Mobile Suits.

"The Orate has been sunk!" Tonomura announced.

"Move us over! To port!" Murrue ordered, "We'll fill in the gap left by the Orate!" Neumann and Tiffa quickly got to work and the Archangel lurched over to the left, letting a salvo of missiles to pass by and detonate on the gate behind it. "Gottfrieds! Aim, fire!" Murrue cried and both of the Archangel's main guns fired, destroying a small group of Mobile Suits in their line of fire.

"More Dinns approaching our flank!" Pal warned, "There're six of them!"

"Captain, if this keeps up, we won't be able to maintain the formation!" Neumann told her, "We can't be everywhere at once!"

"Damn, those bastards sure chose a nice time to catch us with our pants down!" Chandra swore as he anxiously scanned his screen.

"Do you mean all of the main forces are still in Panama?" Sai asked, voicing a question on all of the student's minds.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Chandra nodded grimly.

"But…they'll make it back in time, won't they?" Miriallia asked worriedly.

"At this rate, I'll be thankful as long as they get here before everyone else has been destroyed," Tonomura grumbled.

"Missiles approaching!" Pal shouted.

"Shoot them down!" Murrue ordered and the Archangel fired both Gottfried cannons into the main cluster. A few managed to get by and past the Igelstellung guns, detonating on the already damaged hull. Meanwhile, off in the distance, Rau had landed his Dinn on a small clump of mountains and was perched on the cockpit hatch, observing the battle with his binoculars.

"So…they're intending to sacrifice the Eurasian fleet as well as 'that thing'," Rau smirked, "They seem to be a fun bunch…the Earth Forces…" He turned and climbed into the cockpit, shutting the hatch and activating the Dinn after repositioning the still unconscious Flay across his lap, "I suppose it is natural for one to be curious about a treasure chest with more locks on it…I do hope that the Legged will be ready for this…" With a final smirk, he stepped on the accelerator and took off in the Dinn. Elsewhere, Mu had finally arrived at an inhabited hangar that was also currently being used as a medical bay. However, he never turned to look at the wounded soldiers being carried about or laid down once, as he was rushing towards the other end of the hangar.

"Dammit! This place is in total chaos!"

"Get some medical units in here right now!"

"Understood!"

"What? What about the 11th Air Force Division?" one soldier practically screamed into a phone, "Annihilated? That's impossible!"

"Hey! You there!" Mu called out to the soldier on the phone, "Where's the officer in charge here?" At that moment, however, an explosion ripped through the air as a lone CGUE entered the hangar bay, firing its rifle as it landed.

"This entrance has been secured!" the pilot reported, "Let's go! There're still plenty of those Natural bastards in here to kill!" Three Dinns quickly followed it in, all four of them ignoring the lone Spearhead to the side and thankfully, the technician who was hiding behind it. After they passed by, the said technician silently dropped to his knees, completely shell-shocked by the occurring events.

"Hey! We're pulling out of here!" Mu shouted as he ran up, "This whole base is going to blow up soon!" When the technician didn't respond, Mu grabbed his shoulders and shook them roughly while shouting, "Dammit, listen to me! Gather up any survivors that you can find and tell them to get the hell out of here!" The technician only seemed to respond when Mu climbed up and into the Spearhead before he added, "Remember, you've got to get at least ten kilometers away, got it? That's an order!" The technician nodded once before running off, screaming. "Dammit…" Mu sighed as he quickly shoved a helmet on, "I'm used to playing the hero and all, but this is just plain nuts!" Moments later, a Ginn landed inside the hangar, only to be greeted by a salvo of missiles that blew it right out of the bay. When the smoke cleared, the Spearhead containing Mu sped out of the hangar, racing towards his destination.

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"The fourth gate has been breached," Sutherland reported, entering a room, "They've started infiltrating the interior of the base as well." Currently, the head officers of the Earth Alliance, mainly of the Atlantic Federation, were quietly slipping away in small submarines to escape from the battle. On the table they were seated around lay two briefcases with wires coming from the backs. "I guess this means that the main gate will collapse soon too," Sutherland added, glancing down at his watch, "But as long as we can lure in about 80 of them, I won't have any regrets." As he looked at the two briefcases, another submarine containing multiple officers who had received transfer orders was also slipping away with them. Amongst them was Natarle, who was currently huddled rather uncomfortably between a crate and a small stack of boxes.

"Huh? You can't be serious!" she heard one officer exclaim on the other side of the crate she was leaning against, "What kind of a plan is that?"

"I'm really not supposed to be telling you this, but…" another officer replied in a quieter tone, "If this really is the situation, then the people who were left behind in Alaska…" Natarle couldn't hear the rest because he whispered it but then the other officer promptly repeated it, giving it away.

"Destroyed?" he gaped, "Without even getting a chance to get away?"

"I know it sounds really harsh," the other sighed as Natarle let out a small gasp, "But headquarters is gonna use it as a last resort. As soon as the ZAFT get into the base, everything is gonna go out with a bang…"

"Hey, what was that?" Natarle frowned stepping out from the crates, "What are you talking about?" As the two officers began to explain, the Archangel was still trying to defend itself against the relentless attacks from the ZAFT forces. However, this was beginning to prove to be a difficult task as more and more kept coming and even the Igelstellung guns, while successful in shooting down most of the incoming missiles, couldn't keep up and let a few slip by, further damaging the ship.

"Valiant cannon number one has been hit!" Chandra announced, "Damage to the ship is exceeding thirty percent! The ship is continuously losing power!"

"The Earmark and the Yugoslavia have both been sunk!" Tonomura added.

"What about contact with headquarters?" Murrue asked, "Any word from them yet?"

"I can't get through to them!" Kuzzey replied frantically, "All I get is the same message being repeated on all channels! It says all units are to maintain their formation and return fire as the situation calls for!"

"The communications line has been lost!" Neumann warned, "Captain, if this continues, then-" He was cut off when another missile hit the ship and rocked the bridge violently.

"What about the reinforcements from Panama?" Sai asked, "Where are they now?"

"Hold your horses!" Tonomura said irritably, stressed out by the sheer amount of work he had to do, "I haven't even detected them yet!"

"Incoming missiles!" Chandra warned.

"Who…" Tiffa gasped and looked around, having felt a tugging in her head, "The Commander!"

"Huh?" Neumann blinked and looked at her, "What are you talking about?" As he said this, a lone Spearhead flew over the Archangel before circling over it.

"Ah, good!" Mu said, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw the ship, "You're still intact!" At that moment, his radar reacted to something and he looked to see a CGUE firing at him. Knowing that he stood little chance against it with such a weak craft, Mu resorted to dodging, but one shot managed to strike the bottom of his Spearhead, damaging it. "This is Flaga! Archangel, do you copy?" Mu called out into his radio, "Archangel, answer me! Dammit…" With that, he steered the Spearhead towards the ship, leaving a trail of smoke behind him as he did. Tiffa felt another tugging and looked up to see the craft approaching.

"Captain!" she suddenly exclaimed, "Tell the people in the hangar to move!"

"What?" Murrue blinked, "Crewman Adil, this really isn't the time for fooling around…"

"Incoming aircraft!" Miriallia announced, having detected the Spearhead, "It looks like it's damaged!"

"Huh?" Murrue gasped and looked just in time to see the craft coming towards them, "Is that guy trying to board us?"

"It's impossible!" Neumann exclaimed, "Even with the hole in the hatch…"

"Deck crew! Some nut in an aircraft is trying to make a landing!" Murrue called out through the speakers using the phone on her arm rest, "Take shelter now!"

"Everybody get out of my way! Aaaaahhhh!" Mu cried as he guided the Spearhead directly into the gaping hole left by a missile in hatch of the linear catapult. Several technicians quickly scrambled and dove for cover as the craft skidded across the floor and then eventually crashed into the safety rigging, stretching it to its full extent. Without taking a moment to celebrate his feat, Mu opened the Spearhead's cockpit and tossed his helmet aside as he jumped out, hurrying off to the bridge.

"Commander Flaga?" one of the technicians blinked as he rushed out of the hangar, "What's he doing back here?" A few minutes later, Mu reached the bridge and squeezed through the door as it opened.

"Captain!"

"W-What the hell are you doing here, Commander?" Murrue gaped when she turned to see the speaker, "What about your transfer?"

"That doesn't matter now!" Mu replied hurriedly as he rushed to her side, "We need to get out of here right now!" As everyone on the bridge turned to look at him, he added, "This whole battle is rigged! What kind of orders did the defenders receive?" As Murrue hastily explained, more and more Mobile Suits began pouring into the interior of the base, destroying artillery vehicles left and right as they flew over head. At that moment, a missile struck the ship right under the bridge and everyone had to grab onto something to avoid being thrown about. "Alright, now listen up!" Mu told them, "There's a large Cyclops System hidden beneath head quarters! That thing is powerful enough to turn anything and everything within ten kilometers of the base into a blast furnace!" At this, the entire crew cringed with shock.

Even the students knew what a Cyclops System was, and that such a weapon had been used only once before. The weapon was essentially a large array of giant dishes that vibrated to create powerful microwaves. Thanks to the Neutron Jammers that restricted their movement, the microwaves intensified to the point where they evaporated any liquids that they touched, including the water in the human body to point where the body would simply explode from the pressure. Eventually, the weapon itself would self-destruct and consume the battlefield an a huge radioactive fireball that would finish off whatever the microwaves didn't destroy already. The last use of the weapon was at the Endymion Crater on the moon, the same place where Mu received his prestigious title. It had been a gruesome outcome with nearly all of the forces, Earth Alliance and ZAFT alike, being destroyed.

"It's impossible to defend the base with what's left, and reinforcements from Panama won't arrive in time!" Mu explained, "Soon, the defenders will all be gone and the main gate will come down. That's when headquarters will make the decision to activate the Cyclops and destroy the base! And in the process, they'll take out nearly all of ZAFT's fighting strength! That's the whole scenario for this battle as imagined by the top brass!" At that moment, the crew of the Archangel paid for their lapse in attention when another missile hit them but they quickly focused back on what he had just said.

"It can't be!" Murrue exclaimed, "This has to be some kind of trick!"

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Mu replied, "Head quarters must've somehow known beforehand that ZAFT was going to come after Alaska instead! The entire Join Operations Room has been completely abandoned, that proves it! They're using us, the Archangel and the Eurasia Federation, as bait to lure in the ZAFT forces so that they can blow the whole place up!"

"So they left us here to die?" Neumann snarled as anger started to set in, "Is that what you're saying?"

"But only after a desperate battle…" Mu frowned, "So that no one would realize that the place was abandoned…" Murmurs of shock and anger went up on the bridge while Murrue finally began to realize just what was going on.

"W-What kind of strategy is this?" Miriallia stammered and a few heads turned to look at her, "Because this is a war…and because we're all supposed to be good soldiers…" She turned her head to reveal that tears were welling up in her eyes, "If they tell us to…I guess we've got no choice…but to just throw away our lives…"

"This is the 13th Naval Squadron!" a voice crackled over the speakers, "Requesting…need assist-" All of a sudden, the line was cut off and the sound of static filled the room as fury built in Murrue's heart. As she realized that everyone had been deceived, the ZAFT army was slowly pressing in on the center, leaving a trail of the bodies of soldiers who fought bravely to defend their territory.

"If the object of the whole battle was the lure the ZAFT forces closer to the base," Murrue snarled, "Then in my opinion, the this ship has already completed is assigned task!" As the crew looked to her, she added, "Also…I hereby confirm that this decision was made by myself, Captain Murrue Ramius of the Archangel, and that no other crew members were involved in this decision!"

"No need to be so bold…" Mu blinked as Murrue stood.

"This ship will now make a formal retreat and withdraw from the combat area!" Murrue declared before sitting down and issuing orders, "Crewman Buskirk, signal the other ships and tell them to follow us! Chief Petty Officer Neumann and Crewman Adil! Engines at full speed, to port! We'll break through the left side of the bay!" Replies of assent echoed throughout the bridge and as everyone got to work preparing for their escape, Mu bent down so that he was level with Murrue.

"Getting out of here will be a tough job, but don't give up just yet," Mu said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'll go out and make sure no one gets in the way."

"Commander!" Murrue exclaimed, "You just got back!"

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Mu replied assuredly with a smile as he stood up, "Have you forgotten already? I'm the man who makes the impossible, possible!" As the ship began its desperate move, Rau's Dinn had returned to the Vosgulov submarine that it had been stored in, as Rau was leaving the field for now.

"Maintenance teams report to the hangar! Begin re-supply procedure at once!"

"Commander!" a voice called out as Rau stepped out onto the cockpit hatch and he turned to see Yzak on a nearby platform.

"Ah, Yzak," Rau nodded, "Are you here to re-supply?"

"I've just broken through two gates," Yzak boasted, "When I get back out there, I'm really gonna let them have it in their interior!" Rau nodded at this and thought for a bit.

"Well, I don't know if it's the Legged Ship that's been preventing the main gate from being broken through…" Rau said, "Yzak, why don't I leave that task to you?"

"Really?" Yzak asked, positively delighted, "I mean…thank you, sir! I'll do my best!" With that, the fair-head turned and hurried off, eager to carry out his task.

"Heh, well then…" Rau smirked and turned to look back into the cockpit of his Dinn, "Are you finally awake in there, little lady?" Flay, who had just regained consciousness, had become frightened from waking up in an unfamiliar place but was even more terrified when she saw Rau standing right outside of the doorway. With a slight squeal, she turned and burrowed back into the cockpit, trying to find a place to hide. "Well now…" Rau chuckled, rather amused by the sigh and walked back into the cockpit.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the Archangel and a few of the surviving ships were desperately trying to fight their way out of the battlefield. With Mu in the completely repaired Skygrasper equipped with a Launcher pack, they were making relatively moderate progress so far. While the ship's Igelstellung guns handled the incoming missiles, Mu veered about and shot down several Dinns with the Launcher pack's Agni impulse cannon. However, without the protection of the Archangel and the other ships, all it took was one last barrage of torpedoes and missiles and the main gate came crashing down in flames.

"The main gate has been broken through!" a frantic soldier exclaimed as airborne Mobile Suits streamed into breached gate like hornets attacking a bee-hive.

"Sheesh, can't you just let us be now that you've broken through the gate?" Mu asked sarcastically as he faced off against a group of four Mobile Suits. Using the machine guns mounted on the Skygrasper, Mu reacted quickly and managed to shoot them down before they could case more trouble. Eventually, they approached a line of Vosgulov submarines, which fired a salvo of missiles at them.

"Evade!" Murrue shouted and the Archangel lurched to the side. Some of the others, however, that were unable to leave the water, were hit and went up in balls of fire and smoke. "Fire Gottfrieds!" Murrue ordered and the Archangel's main guns shot at the submarines, sinking two of them.

"There's a Mobile Suit hitting us with heavy fire from behind!" Tonomura warned, "It…X102! The Duel!" True to his word, the Duel came rushing in on the ship on its Guul, with a very determined Yzak at the controls.

"This is the end, Legged Ship!" Yzak snarled, "I'll make sure to make this place your grave!" Saying this, he fired the Duel's beam rifle and then the Shiva railgun and its missile launchers, one after the other. The Archangel, with no way to defend itself from the rear, took most of the hits until Mu came flying in on the scene in the Skygrasper.

"Dammit, at a time like this!" Mu frowned and charged the Duel, firing the Agni as it went.

"Tsch, don't underestimate me, you idiot!" Yzak shouted, "I'm not like the Buster!" Yzak quickly dodged the shots from the Agni and returned fire with the Duel's beam rifle, managing to successfully shoot off the Launcher pack from the Skygrasper.

"Captain!" Neumann called out after another missile hit them, "Where to?"

"Twenty to port!" Murrue replied, "Dig into their flank!"

"Incoming Mobile Suits at 10 o'clock!" Chandra warned, "They're Ginns!"

-----------------------------

"Alright, Kira!" Ryo said over the comm.., "Shields up!" The two were now high above the battle field, almost ready to enter the atmosphere, in fact.

"Right," Kira nodded and positioned the Freedom so that it was crouching on the transformed Double X with its shield in front of it. Unlike last time, cockpit remained moderately cool as the two descended through the atmosphere and the Freedom's shield showed no signs of heating up. Just then, Kira heard an oddly familiar tune coming from Ryo's line and when he strained to hear it over the roar of the two Mobile Suits speeding through the atmosphere, he couldn't help but sweat-drop when he recognized it. "…Ryo?"

"Yeah?"

"…Why am I hearing the _Superman_ theme coming from your line?"

"…Internet…"

-----------------------------

"Engine 3 has been damaged!" Chandra announced, "The Douro has been sunk!" Another missile rocked the bridge even more violently then usual, scaring most of the students.

"Blocks 64 through 79 have been sealed off!" Sai reported, "The ship has lost nearly 43 of its power!" One of the incoming Ginns fired a bazooka round that hit the Archangel square below the bridge, shaking it again.

"Oh man!" Kuzzey wailed, his already low morale all but completely shot, "We're finished!"

"Shut up and get a hold of yourself!" Pal said irritably, "This isn't over yet!"

"Wombats, fire!" Murrue cried, "Engines, to maximum! We've got to break through!" Even as the Archangel emptied its rear-missile tubes, another one hit them and damaged it even more.

"Archangel!" Mu exclaimed before noticing the Duel charging him, "Dammit!" Even as the two fought, the Archangel was starting to slow down at a dangerous rate as her engines slowly died down.

"Our thrust is decreasing way too much!" Neumann grunted as he and Tiffa struggled to keep the ship upright, "I don't know how much longer I can keep her steady!" Just then, another wave of Mobile Suits came charging down. One Ginn was destroyed by an Igelstellung gun while the squad's CGUE was blown in half by one of the Gottfrieds. As the smoke cleared, however, one of the Ginns made it through and ended up right in front of the window of the Archangel's bridge, its mono-lens glaring at the crew before it aimed its assault rifle at them. Time seemed to slow down as the Mobile Suit brought its weapon up at level. As Murrue gasped in shock, Miriallia cringed and turned away, unable to look death in the face. Sai's face was frozen in terror as Kuzzey let out a cry and got up from his seat to run.

"NO!" Mu exclaimed when he saw this.

"Damn…" Murrue swore beneath her breath as the Ginn's finger slowly tightened around the trigger. Then, there was a bright flash of light that forced the crew to turn away, the faint sound of a beam rifle, and the sound of an explosion. But…the bridge was still intact.

"What the…" the pilot of the Ginn blinked as he backed his Mobile Suit up as he looked to the sky, "What just happened?" At that moment, Tiffa felt an immense tug at the back of her skull and Mu had a slightly similar reaction, causing both of them to look up.

"They're here!" Tiffa exclaimed and as she spoke, a brilliant streak of light came soaring down from the sky. Suddenly, it split in two and as one veered off, the other continued on, revealing itself to be a strange white Mobile Suit. The Mobile Suit reached for its side and a flash of hot pink extended from its hand and the pilot only had time to gasp before it passed in front of the Ginn in a blur of white and blue. As soon as it passed, the Ginn's head separated from its body and exploded while the crippled Ginn quickly flew off. The sound of the second explosion caused the crew of the Archangel to open their eyes to a wondrous sight. Hovering in front of the bridge was another Mobile Suit, its blue wings facing them as it positioned itself in front of them as a shield. Suddenly, if moved aside and they saw an odd looking air-craft separate into to reveal a second Mobile Suit before the two halves combined to make a smaller one, which the Mobile Suit landed on and used as a platform. As the second Mobile Suit moved in next to the first, steam issued from the vents on their torsos as light gleamed from the polished surfaces. The crew watched in awe as light flashed from their eyepieces, as if daring anyone to approach them. All over the battle field, everyone stopped fighting for a moment to get a look at the new comers.

"What the…?" Mu blinked as he flew past the Duel, which had also stopped firing momentarily.

"Where did those Mobile Suits come from?" Yzak frowned but even as he spoke, the first arched its back and then spread its blue wings out into five pairs, emanating an aura of light from them.

"Those Mobile Suits…" Murrue muttered, "Why are they…?"

"Hey, what's with those Mobile Suits?"

"They must be the Earth Forces' new models…"

"This is Kira Yamato!" a familiar voice suddenly crackled through their speakers, "Do you read me, Archangel?"

"Archangel, come in!" a second voice, equally familiar, added, "This is Ryo Mouri! Come in, Archangel!"

"Archangel, Ryo and I will cover you!" Kira said, "Meanwhile, please use this time to escape!"

"Kira?" Miriallia blinked as murmurs of confusion and hope went up in the bridge, "Ryo?"

"It is them!" Sai exclaimed happily, "It's Kira and Ryo! I knew they weren't dead!"

"Our…Kira and Ryo…?" Murrue gaped as she stared at the two Mobile Suits in front of them.

"That's right!" Ryo grinned, "We're back and we've got the goodies!"

"Ryo…" Tiffa smiled, "I knew you would make it…"

"Come on, Kira!" Ryo said, "Time to see what these bad boys can do!" Kira smiled a bit and then turned his attention back to the battle. Already, several Ginns were moving in to attack and the two pilots both nodded to each other. The Freedom ascended as the Double X jumped off of the G-Falcon to let it separate while its wings folded down and the Twin Satellite Cannons rotated forward. As the two halves of the G-Falcon attached to the front and back of the Double X, the two focused and a SEED appeared in their mind, spinning once before bursting in a vertical nova of colors. Their eyes quickly shifted to a dulled state and at the same time, the center screen on their dash-boards, which usually displayed their position on a certain terrain, popped up and changed to black covered with dots. Red circles appeared around a few of them with slight beeping sounds as the combat computer locked onto the targets. As soon as they had locked onto as many as they could, Kira deployed the Freedom's Xiphias railguns and Balaena plasma beam cannons as Ryo set the G-Falcon's beam cannons on the optional "scatter" mode. "Now!" Ryo shouted and both the Freedom and Double X unleashed the full firepower of their weapons by firing all of them at once. Brilliant streaks of colored light filled the sky as the beams tore through head pieces and severed arms from the bodies of a multitude of Mobile Suits, leaving everyone in shock of what they just saw.

"W-What the hell was that?" Yzak exclaimed, completely dumbfounded by the display.

"Amazing!" Mu blinked, "I've never seen such accuracy!"

"Please, stop wasting time!" Kira called out after the two Mobile Suits had resumed fighting normally, "Ms. Murrue, you've got to get out of here!"

"Well, yes, but…" Murrue stammered as the Freedom disabled a Dinn that had decided to engage it, "There's…a Cyclops…beneath headquarters! We're all just bait!" As Kira and Ryo thought about this, she added, "They planned, this! We had no idea! That's why we can't get away! We need to get further away from the base!"

"Understood!" Ryo nodded as he cut off a Ginn's arms using the Double X's hyper beam swords, "Leave it to us! We'll get you out of this!" With that, the G-Falcon reconnected to the Double X as the Freedom deployed its guns again. "Kira!" Ryo called out, "These guys don't know what's going on! We'd better warn them too!"

"Right!" Kira replied and as the two units flew forward, he called out through his speakers, "Attention to all ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces!"

"What's this?" one of the Vosgulov submarine captains wondered as the message was spread.

"Any moment now, a Cyclops System will activate and the Alaska base will self-destruct!" Kira announced to the shock of most of the combatants, "I ask that both sides cease fire immediately and withdraw from the combat area! I repeat, a Cyclops System is about to activate and the Alaska base will self-destruct!" As he said this, both the Freedom and Double X fired off volley after volley of gunfire, disabling even more Mobile Suits. Back on the Archangel, the crew had calmed down by now and even Kuzzey was sitting in his seat again after the frightening encounter.

"Those two…" Mu sighed as Kira and Ryo broadcasted the warnings across the battlefield.

"Come on, you guys…" Murrue muttered, "Hurry…"

"Who the hell is that guy?"

"Isn't he on the Earth Forces' side?"

"I'm not falling for that stupid bluff!" Yzak suddenly shouted, rushing at the two Mobile Suits while firing its beam rifle. Hearing it coming, Kira wheeled around and blocked the shots with the Freedom's shield.

"The Duel…" Kira frowned, remembering how it had shot down the civilian shuttle and felt his temper flare for a moment. However, Kira was a changed person now. No matter how angry he was at the Duel for what it had done, he had vowed never to kill again. This time would be no different.

"Take this!" Yzak shouted and drew one of the Duel's beam sabers and slashed forward. Freedom brought its shield up and blocked the strike before catching a punch thrown by the Duel with its other hand.

"I told you to stop!" Kira shouted, "Do you want to die here?"

"What are you talking about?" Yzak snarled and then shot at the Freedom with its Shiva railgun. Seeing this, Kira moved the Freedom's head aside, only to get hit by a vicious head butt from the Duel. As he moved back, the Duel swung down but the Freedom suddenly flipped over, dodged the blow, and drew its own saber, charging at the vulnerable Duel. Yzak cried aloud when he saw the blade coming at him but at the last moment, Kira altered the angel of the attack and instead of slicing through the cockpit, he simply relieved the Duel of both its legs, surprising Yzak.

"Forget about fighting and get the hell out of here!" Kira told him and then had the Freedom kick the Duel down towards the ocean, where it was caught by a friendly Dinn.

"He didn't…but why…?" Yzak blinked as he watched the Freedom grow smaller on his screen, "There's something familiar about that guy…" Meanwhile, the Earth Alliance's top officers had finally deemed the time right to carry out the last part of their plan. While Sutherland sat inside the conference room, another officer stepped inside. "It's about time…" Sutherland remarked, looking up, "Shall we finish this off?" The officer, the head of the Eurasia Federation, gritted his teeth as he nodded and sat down next to him. The two briefcases in front of them were now open, revealing a complex looking mechanism inside. The two removed a set of keys from around their necks and nodded to each other before inserting them into the mechanisms.

"It is my sincerest wish that this terrible sacrifice will bring a quick end to the war," the Eurasian officer sighed, a bit reluctant to go through with this.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," Sutherland nodded, "Three…two…one…" At the same instant that the two turned the keys simultaneously, the dishes that made up the Cyclops System beneath the JOSH-A base began to vibrate violently. Soon, they began to spark and then started emitting a reddish hue of energy. Up on the ground, the invading ZAFT pilots soon noticed that the ground had begun to shake violently and were rather confused as to what was happening.

"Hey, what's going on out there?" one of them wondered out loud, "What with that shaking?" All of a sudden, a reddish glow burst from the ground and began spreading outward. To his shock, the Dinn in front of him exploded moments after it was touched by it before it began to fill his cockpit. He immediately began to feel odd, and then he screamed as the water that made up seventy percent of his body evaporated so quickly that he literally exploded inside his own cockpit as his Ginn exploded around him. All around, other Mobile Suits and their pilots who were too curious to run met a similar fate as the lethal microwaves tore them apart. Down on the ground, fleeing Earth Forces soldiers were also consumed by the microwaves and soon, the presence of the weapon was detected by everyone.

"A huge wave of thermal energy has been detected within the Alaska base!" an officer on board a Vosgulov submarine announced, "This…this is…!"

"The Cyclops has been activated!" Sai warned aboard the Archangel, "It's spreading! Fast!"

"Full speed ahead! Give her full power!" Murrue ordered frantically, "We've got to escape!" As the Archangel's thrusters roared to life, more and more Mobile Suits and soldiers fell victim to the devastating effects of the Cyclops. Even the ships weren't safe, as the microwaves spread out on to the water and began evaporating whatever it touched there. The remaining ZAFT forces were now in full retreat, hastily pulling away from the base to escape the microwaves. One pilot was unlucky enough to have his Guul's engines short out beneath him and explode, damaging his Ginn and the cockpit. Even as the now headless Ginn began to fall, the Freedom suddenly appeared from no where and grabbed onto it.

"I've gotcha!" Kira assured him and then pushed the Freedom's thrusters to their limit. However, even he was starting to doubt their speed. The Cyclops had already devoured the dead bodies of the Earth Forces' soldiers and was still spreading out.

"It's no good…we'll never get out of this in time!" Ryo frowned and then flew off towards the rear of the ship, where the engines were, "I sure hope this works." With that, he detached the G-Falcon and landed it on the Archangel's hull having the Double X touch down just above the engines. He hit a switch on the control stick, which immediately caused a change in the Double X's appearance. Its wings folded into three pairs, revealing a gold interior while the arm-guards folded out to reveal two gold energy grids beneath each. A similar mechanism was on the sides of the lower legs and the Twin Satellite Cannons folded up and over the Double X's shoulders while a scope-like object clamped down over each. "Attention! All retreating units!" Ryo called out, "Anyone in need of a faster transport, please land on the Archangel's hull!"

"Ryo?" Kira blinked, "What are you…?"

"I have no freakin' clue," Ryo sighed as the main screen changed to reveal a power meter in the same shape of the Double X's spread wings; a single "X" with a line running horizontally through it. After a few coordinates showed up on the screen, a bright beam of light shot down from the sky, striking the Double X's energy collector on its torso as a few Ginns and Dinns landed on the Archangel with the Freedom as well. "Everyone brace yourselves!" Ryo called out as the power meter filled and he took a deep breath before clicking the trigger. All at once, two bursts of white light erupted from the nozzles of the cannons and Ryo was pushed back into his seat by the recoil. "Holy crap!" he exclaimed as the screen dimmed automatically, "I'd better be careful when using this thing!"

"Ensign Mouri's unit has just had a tremendous increase in power output!" Tonomura announced on the bridge as they began to lurch forward.

"Hey, what's this?" Neumann blinked, "We're moving faster!" As the crew of the Archangel puzzled over their sudden increase in speed, Mu was watching from his Skygrasper and couldn't help but whistle at the sight.

"That's one hell of a shot…" he remarked and then turned to look back. By now, even buildings were starting to collapse as the ground shook worse then ever before beginning to split open. Eventually, the falling debris combined with the out of control vibrations caused the entire weapon to go up in flames, the sheer forces of the shockwave pushing out the ground above it.

"Holy…." the Vosgulov commander gaped as he watched a massive fireball erupt from the ground, "Is that….?"

"Well…" Rau said, hiding his smirk in the darkness, "Looks like we've been had by the Naturals…" Half an hour later, far away from the ruins of the base, the Archangel, Mu's Skygrasper, and the Freedom and Double X had landed on a rocky terrain. Even then, they could still see the ominous mushroom shaped cloud in the distance while a brilliant aurora hovered above it; a beauty over a disaster. Everyone was still in shock over what had just happened and those who weren't were completely furious at their superiors. "Tsch…sacrificing their own soldiers…" Mu growled as he tossed his helmet to the ground, "Is that how the Earth Forces does things these days?"

"I…I can't believe…." Tiffa muttered, holding her sides as she shivered, "So many people lost…" Meanwhile, near the Freedom and Double X, Kira and Ryo were tending to the injuries of the Ginn pilot that Kira had rescued; the said Ginn kneeling nearby.

"This doesn't look good," Ryo sighed, "I don't think he's gonna make."

"Well, we can hope, can't we?" Kira frowned and then gently shook the pilot, "Hey, you alright? Say something…" The pilot stirred and blearily looked at the two, surprised to see how young they were.

"Were you…" he blinked, "In those…Mobile Suits…?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded and Ryo did the same.

"Why…" the pilot asked, "Did you save me?"

"You guys weren't our enemies…or allies," Ryo told him, "There's more to war than just killing whoever you're fighting against."

"Well…" the pilot smiled, "Killing me…would have been….easier…." With that, he closed his eyes and Kira grimaced as he exhaled his last breath.

"Damn!" Kira swore, pounding his fist into the ground, "They'd…they'd do anything to win…"

"We'll worry about that later," Ryo said, standing up, "Come on…I'm sure the others will be waiting to see us…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Annihilated? What do you mean annihilated?"

"I've never heard of such a thing!"

"What about Carpentaria? What's the word from them?"

"Listen, I want confirmation on this!"

"Hey…?" Athrun blinked, "What's going on here?" Having just arrived from Earth, Athrun had never expected for the National Defense Center to be in such a state. All around him, people were running about and clamoring about something that Athrun couldn't identify. Just then, he saw a familiar face in the crowd and went toward it while calling out, "Commander Yuki!"

"Athrun Zala!" the said officer blinked, surprised, as the two approached each other, "What are you doing in the PLANTs?"

"I'll tell you later, but first…" Athrun replied, looking around, "What's going on here?"

"Operation Spit Break appears to have failed," his former mentor frowned, "We don't know the exact details but apparently, the entire invading force was annihilated."

"You're kidding…"

"I'm afraid that I have one last piece of bad news," Yuki continued, leaning closer so that only Athrun could hear, "Someone, and we don't know who, stole two of our top-secret Mobile Suits, one of which was one of the new ones we were building." As Athrun nodded, Yuki added, "But apparently, the person who helped them attain them was Lacus Clyne." At this, the shock was so great that Athrun dropped his briefcase, which tipped over and landed flat on the floor as Yuki continued, "The entire National Defense Committee is in a state of panic now. No one knows what's going on any more. First there was the sudden change in the target of Spit Break…and now this…"

"It can't be…not her…" Athrun frowned, "I know Lacus…she wouldn't do something like this!" With that, he bent down, picked up his briefcase, and set off at a brisk walk towards Chairman Zala's office. If he was going to get the full details, he was going to have to have a talk with his father about it.

Phase 35: End

To the reviewers:

Light of the Demons- No, Tiffa will not pilot a Mobile Suit

Warp Ligia Obscura- He was. Remember, he was friends with both Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala before the kids were born.

seedsofwar- Yes, he has, hasn't he?


	37. In the Name of Justice

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 36: In the Name of Justice

_May 8, C.E. 71, PLANT National Defense Committee headquarters, December City_

"What are you stalling for? Send the reinforcements from Gibraltar now!"

"We don't need unmanned recon unit! We just need accurate information!"

"This is way too sudden! Where did this stuff come from?" These were only a few of the things that Athrun managed to hear as he headed towards his father's office. Having just been informed of the disastrous failure of Operation Spit Break and the supposed treason of Lacus by his former mentor, he wanted answers. And he wanted them now. He knew that if there was one person who he could count on for information, it was his father. Soon, he reached the large door and it slid open before him as he entered.

"Athrun Zala, entering!" he announced as he stepped in, saluting.

"Hold on a minute," his father nodded before turning around to the small group of officers in front of him as Athrun stepped aside, "What exactly happened down there?"

"It appears that the Earth Forces used a very large Cyclops System," one of them replied, "They apparently hid it underneath their headquarters prior to the attack."

"What about Creuset?"

"We haven't received any word from him yet, but a report came in saying that he's fine."

"Tell him to send a full report as soon as he can," Patrick instructed just as another officer entered and saluted.

"Eileen Canaver and various other members of the council are repeatedly asking for an explanation regarding the situation."

"Tell them to wait," Patrick frowned, "Athrun, I'll be with you in a moment."

"Yes sir."

"They may be asking for an emergency council meeting."

"Alright, first things first, gather up the surviving troops at Carpentaria," Patrick said, "I want results. What we need is an objective analysis on the situation! Where is the Clyne family?"

"We haven't found anything yet, sir," the officer replied, "It appears that they've gone underground. Locating them may take longer than we anticipated."

"Alert the Justice Department!" Patrick ordered, "Eileen Canaver and any council members who were associated with Clyne are to be detained immediately!"

"B-But that's…"

"Lacus Clyne was seen consorting with an enemy spy! Now she and her father have gone missing and information regarding Operation Spit-Break's true target was somehow leaked!" Patrick exclaimed, "Even a child can figure out what really happened! It was Clyne who betrayed us! And yet the others are still trying to interrogate me? Damn Canaver and those bastards! They must be hiding them! There's no other way to view the situation!"

"Very well, sir," the officer nodded and all of them saluted quickly before turning to leave. As soon as they were gone, Patrick heaved a heavy sigh and sunk into his seat, rubbing his forehead to clear a headache that had formed.

"Father…" Athrun said warily as he approached him.

"What did you call me?" Patrick frowned as he looked up at him.

"M-My apologies, Chairman Zala!" Athrun stuttered as he realized his mistake, snapping a quick salute.

"At ease, Athrun," Patrick sighed, "Do you realize the seriousness of the situation that we're in?"

"Yes…but still…" Athrun replied hesitantly, "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Lacus a spy? That's impossible!"

"You don't? Then take a look at this," Patrick said and pushed a button on his desk, causing a section of the wall to slide back and reveal a screen that lit up, showing a Mobile Suit and two small figures in front of it before changing to a similar picture but with a different Mobile Suit, "These were taken by a surveillance camera at a military factory. Both the Freedom and Double X went missing immediately after these shots were taken." The image zoomed in on the two people and Athrun could clearly see a stranger wearing a red ZAFT uniform in both shots. However, in the first one, he immediately recognized Lacus as the other person and in the second, it was Siegel Clyne. "No matter what you think, everything is true. Why would anybody doubt them unless the evidence was solid?" Patrick asked before he added, "It goes without say that Lacus Clyne is no longer your fiancé. It hasn't been officially announced yet, but she and her father are being treated as fugitives, wanted for the crime of treason." After a brief pause, he continued, "Your next mission will be to recover the stolen X10A Freedom and X99A Double X and eliminate the pilots, along with any persons and places that they may have come in contact with."

"Huh?"

"Pick up the X09A Justice from the armory as soon as preparations are complete," Patrick told him, "If the Freedom and Double X cannot be recovered, you are hereby authorized to destroy them."

"Everyone and everything they might have come in contact with?" Athrun asked, slightly alarmed, "Eliminating them sounds a little…extreme, don't you think?"

"Those three units, the X10A Freedom, the X09A Justice, and the X99A Double X…" Patrick replied with a lower tone as another officer came in, "Are all equipped with N-Jammer Cancellers!"

"They have N-Jammer Cancellers? Impossible!" Athrun exclaimed, "Why did you build them? The PLANTs made the decision to abandon all nuclear-technology!"

"If we are to win this war, then we will need it now," Patrick told him, "We need that power, Athrun! Your mission is of extreme importance; give it your utmost effort!" Later, at the Mobile Suit hangar that housed Athrun's new Mobile Suit, the said bluenette went to take a look at his new machine, accompanied by Yuri Amalfi. When Athrun first saw it, he was very surprised to see how much it resembled the previous Mobile Suit that he had piloted, the Aegis. This model, however, had an improved shield and beam rifle similar to those of the Freedom, thought it only had two Lacerta sabers as opposed to the four that the Aegis had. It no longer had a Mobile Armor mode, but it did possess a pair of Bassel beam boomerangs on its shoulders and a Fatum-00 flight lifter attached to its back, which was armed with two Fortis beam cannons, two Cervus machine gun turrets, and four Volucris guns.

"You know," Yuri suddenly said, "Nicol used to really like her songs. Your fiancé's, I mean."

"Yeah," Athrun nodded gloomily, "He was a real…"

"It's alright, I must apologize. I know it must be hard for you," Yuri quickly replied before turning away, "I realize that this is a war…but know that I should be the one taking vengeance for his death…"

"No, I…"

"And yet, there are many young men just like you and Nicol who are fighting and sacrificing their lives to protect the PLANTs. I just don't understand how anyone could ever think of betraying us!" Yuri frowned, "I just can't stand it! There have already been so many sacrifices! So many that we've even decided to resort to using nuclear power again by building these N-Jammer Cancellers!" At this, Athrun sighed and thought back to Lacus. He didn't understand why someone as sweet and caring as her would ever do something like this. It made no sense at all.

"Start the final Mobile Suit simulation! All crew members on Block F are to remain on standby!"

"If this machine or either of the other two ever fell into the hands of the Earth Forces, then they wouldn't hesitate to start using nukes again!" Yuri added, "We can't allow that to happen, no matter what!"

-----------------------------

"_Commander Rau le Creuset, what do you think your doing?" she asked firmly, "Withdraw at once! I will not allow you to engage in battle in the presence of a memorial representative like myself."_

-----------------------------

"Please, Athrun," Yuri said, "Don't let any more people like Nicol die…" Athrun sighed as he looked back up at the Aegis look-alike, still unsure of what he was supposed to be doing. Down on Earth, the entire crew of the Archangel had gathered outside the ship, staring at the two Mobile Suits off in the distance. Although they had heard the voices, they were still a bit unsure if the pilots of the Mobile Suits really were their lost comrades. As they were wondering, they suddenly spotted two figures clothed in red walking towards them from the distance. As they got closer, they identified them as two teenagers wearing red ZAFT pilot suits and carrying their helmets but it wasn't until they had gotten within twenty feet of them when they finally saw that the two looked exactly like Kira and Ryo.

"Kira…" Sai blinked as everyone else turned to each other while others gasped, "Ryo?"

"Well…" Kira smiled as Ryo did the same, "Looks like we got back just in time…"

"Are…are you two…" Murrue stammered, hardly daring to believe it, "Really Kira and Ryo?"

"Who'd you expect, Batman and Robin?" Ryo grinned, "Of course it's us!"

"Kira…" Miriallia muttered and then exclaimed happily, "Kira! Ryo!"

"It really is them!" Kuzzey said as everyone hurried forward to crowd around them.

"You guys…"

"How in the world did you two escape?"

"You…you two aren't ghosts…" Chandra stammered, "Are you?"

"Well…" Ryo laughed, "Could a ghost do…this?" With that, he dropped his helmet, caught it with his foot and tossed it up in the air so that he was wearing it when it landed on his head. Everyone laughed at this as he took it back off but then Kira noticed Sai and Kuzzey who were just now approaching hesitantly.

"Sai…" he said, "Kuzzey…" He made his way through the small crowd with Ryo close behind and went over to the two, stopping just before them.

"I'm…" Sai stammered, currently at a loss for words, "Glad to see…you're alive…"

"I'm glad to see you're okay too…sorry," Kira smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "Thanks, Sai." With a last nod, he turned and went back to the others with Ryo as he said, "Well, I guess you guys have a couple million questions on your minds."

"At least," Murrue smiled.

"And there are a few things that we want to ask you as well," Kira added as he gestured to Ryo, who nodded.

"I'm sure you do," Murrue replied.

"So," Mu suddenly stepped in, "Were you guys with ZAFT?"

"We were with them for a little while, but we haven't joined the ZAFT army," Ryo explained, "But…Kira and I are also no longer members of the Earth Forces either." There was a slight murmur amongst the others before Murrue turned to them.

"I understand. Why don't we talk about it later?" she nodded and then glanced back at the deactive Freedom and Double X, "What about those units? What are you two planning to do with them?"

"If you mean equipment or supplies," Kira said, "Then we don't need anything for them right now. Both units are equipped with Neutron Jammer Cancellers."

"Neutron Jammer Cancellers?" Mu gaped as the others expressed their surprise, "I thought they were only a rumor!"

"So those things run on nuclear power?" Chandra asked.

"How in the world did they…"

"If you're asking us for information, you're not going to get any," Kira frowned, "And if you try to take those machines, then we'll protect them…even if we have to fight against you."

"Hey, let's not be rash, Kira," Ryo said disapprovingly, frowning as well, "However, Kira is right. These Mobile Suits are ours to use. We're not letting either side get them."

"Ryo…"

"You two…"

"They're our responsibility; they were entrusted to us…" Ryo told them, "The one that I pilot was passed down to me by my father…he knew that I would fly it one day…I won't give it up…"

"I understand," Murrue smiled, "I assure you, no one on this ship will lay a hand on your machines." She looked back over her shoulder and added, "Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Thank you," Kira nodded, "Come on…we should leave this place for now…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Three days later, up in PLANT, Athrun was visiting the Clyne residence as the sun was setting. That is, what was left of the Clyne residence. Ever since the "Freedom Theft Incident", his father had sent several Spec Ops Teams to the house to find any evidence. And since no one had been at home at the time, the Spec Ops Teams didn't hold back in their search. Every window was smashed, chairs and tables were overturned, cushions were slashed open, and even the gardens were demolished. Athrun sighed as he recalled his last visit here only months ago. Back then, nobody would have ever suspected either Lacus or her father capable of committing something like treason. And now, his own father would be making an address to the public labeling the two as traitors tomorrow. "Lacus…" he sighed, "What's the world coming to now?" All of a sudden, he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him and he swiftly turned around, his good hand slipping into his jacket to grasp the concealed handle of his gun.

"Haro! Haro!" a familiar voice chirped out and much to Athrun's surprise, a round, pink robot came bouncing out of the bushes. "I won't accept that!" the rather dirty and scratched Haro exclaimed as it bounced away from him, "No problem! No problem!"

"Haro!" Athrun called out as he chased after it, "Come here!" Hearing his voice, the Haro immediately recognized him and stopped before bouncing right at him, almost hitting him in the face had he not put his hand up to catch it. The toy emitted a series of electronic beeps before going quiet again as Athrun looked around at where Haro had led him to. He quickly recognized the place as the remains of a green-house that still had a few white roses hanging from the wire frames. As he thought, he remembered something that Lacus had said to him once in the exact same place.

-----------------------------

"_These flowers…" Lacus smiled as she gently brushed her fingers against a white rose, "They came from the theater where I first sang in public…" Athrun blinked, a little confused as he looked around the green-house, laden with green leaves and several more roses._

"_They must've really liked you, then," Athrun said to her with a shrug._

"_Perhaps…" Lacus giggled, "They're something to remember it by!"_

-----------------------------

"Haro! Fine!" Haro suddenly chirped, "You fine?" Suddenly jerked from his thoughts, Athrun looked around to see that he was no longer in the beautiful green-house but in a tunnel made of support beams and dead or dying plants. All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him.

"The place where she first…" he muttered and then rushed off out of the remains of the green-house, still carrying the Haro. Meanwhile, the Archangel had long left the rocky islet on which it had stayed for a while after the disaster at Alaska and was sailing across the ocean, which was thankfully free of ZAFT submarines at the moment. Currently, several technicians were looking over the Freedom and Double X from a distance while the crew had a meeting on the bridge.

"So that was the plan?" Kira, now in his Earth Forces uniform, asked after the entire thing had been explained to him and Ryo.

"There's no doubt," Mu nodded from next to Murrue, who was sitting in the Captain's chair, "That's definitely it."

"They never told us anything," Murrue sighed, "They just…up and left…"

"Headquarters somehow knew that ZAFT was going to attack Alaska ahead of time," Mu explained, "And they must've known it for a while, too. How else would they have had enough to lay out a Cyclops bomb that big beneath the base?"

"I don't like this…" Ryo, also wearing his old uniform, frowned as he and Kira stood up near a window, "What do you think, Kira?" Kira thought for a bit and then remembered what had happened the day he had received the Freedom.

-----------------------------

"_Bad news, Clyne," Eileen said hurriedly, "It appears that Zala's deceived us. We just received word of this and we don't know how long this has been going on but…"_

"_Hold on, now, Canaver, there's no need to rush," Siegel interrupted, his face growing serious, "Just calm down and tell me what's going on."_

"_Operation Spit Break has already begun, but its true target isn't Panama!" Eileen exclaimed, "It's Alaska!"_

-----------------------------

"Something like that happened up in PLANT too," Kira said, "They didn't know that it was Alaska until the last moment. It took three days for them to reorganize the attack after the announcement was made." As the others, excluding Ryo, looked up in surprise, he asked, "So, what do you and the rest of the crew plan to do now, Ms. Murrue?"

"We really don't know," Murrue sighed and turned to Mu, who shrugged.

"We can't contact anyone because of the N-Jammers and the electromagnetic waves," Tonomura pointed out, "Maybe we should head for Panama."

"I don't know," Mu said, "Do you really think they'll be so welcoming to us over there? I mean, we did find out about the whole thing."

"Since we left the battlefield without any official orders, we're a fugitive ship right now," Murrue told them, "It won't be so easy."

"So even if we do go back, we'll still have to face the law…" Neumann sighed, "Looks like we're caught up in another rut."

"For some reason…" Murrue said, "I'm not too certain on what we're supposed to be fighting for anymore."

"Then do you know how you're going to finish this fight, Ms. Murrue?" Kira suddenly asked, causing everyone to look at him, "I believe that we're all fighting for a new cause now."

"He's right," Ryo nodded, "Now that we've run off, everything's changed. We'll have to start over, all of us, in what we believe in." Later, in Murrue's office, she and Mu were discussing a possible place to go to for shelter.

"ORB?" Murrue blinked, "Are you sure about that, Commander?"

"Positive," Mu nodded as he set down a mug of coffee for her, "It's not like we really want to go back, do we? Everyone else feels the same way."

"Well, our execution is almost guaranteed if we go back," Murrue sighed, "So I guess we really don't have much of a choice."

"But those two kids…" Mu said, "They've really changed…"

"Yeah…" Murrue nodded, "It's almost like…they've grown much wiser since they disappeared…"

"We're all fighting for a new cause, huh?" Mu mused, "Can't argue with that…" On a different part of the ship, Kira and Ryo were walking through the hallways when they happened upon Miriallia in the cafeteria.

"Hey guys," she smiled, "Good to be back, huh?"

"Yeah," Ryo nodded, "Even if it's just a ship, I did kind of miss it here." Miriallia nodded but Ryo and Kira sensed that something was bothering her, like she was holding something back. Suddenly realize what it might be, Ryo dug into his pocket and said, "Um, Milly…I really don't know how to put this, but…" He pulled his hand out and Miriallia saw that he was clutching a set of dog-tags. Almost at once, her cheery façade dropped and her eyes went wide.

"Are…" she stammered, "Are those…"

"I'm sorry…" Ryo muttered as he handed them to her, "These were…all that I could find…" Shakily, Miriallia reached out and took the tags from Ryo and looked down at them.

"Tolle…"

"I'm so sorry, Miriallia," Ryo sighed, "If we had known the Aegis would react like that, then we could've…"

"No," Miriallia interrupted and put on a forced smiled, "Thank you…for bringing me this…" There was a rather awkward pause before Ryo nodded and gave a shaky smile before giving her a pat on the shoulder and turning with Kira, leaving Miriallia to contemplate matters on her own.

"Well, I'll catch you later, I guess," Ryo said when they reached Kira's room, "I'd better check if everything's still where I left it." Kira nodded and Ryo returned it before leaving as Kira entered his room. The first thing that he noticed was the cardboard box lying on his bed, which probably held all of his things since none of his belongings were on the shelves. Moving over to his bed, he looked around and his eyes fell on a small object that looked rather out of place. Going over to it, he bent down and upon picking it up, discovered that it was a tube of lip-stick, probably belonging to Flay. All of a sudden, he remembered what he had said to her before he had left the Archangel that day.

-----------------------------

_"Kira!" she called out and the said brunette stopped to look at her and Ryo did the same, _

_"Kira...I..."_

_"Sorry, Flay, not now," Kira sighed and turned to leave, "We'll talk when I get back, okay?"_

-----------------------------

"Birdee!" a mechanical voice suddenly chirped and Kira looked up in surprise as his robotic bird landed on his shoulder.

"It kept following me around for some reason," he heard someone say by the door and he looked up to see Sai, "I…didn't want to turn him off, so…"

"Thanks," Kira smiled as Birdee chirped again.

"Well then…" Sai nodded after a brief pause before turning but Kira quickly spoke up.

"Hey, Sai," he said, causing the said blonde to turn around, "Um…have you seen Flay?" Sai paused, thinking about what Flay had said before she had been transferred.

-----------------------------

"_You knew it the whole time, didn't you?" Flay asked, starting to become desperate, "You knew that…You knew that I never really had any feelings for Kira in the first place!"_

-----------------------------

"She was transferred while we were in Alaska," Sai told him, "Lieutenant Badgiruel and Commander Flaga did too. The Commander came back eventually, but…the Lieutenant and Flay had already left."

"I see," Kira nodded.

"I…" Sai suddenly stammered as he tensed up, "I was…really upset when I heard that you and Ryo might be dead…"

"Sai…?"

"And now…you're both alive and you're back! I should be happy now!" Sai continued, "But why…why are you two like this now! We're different! You're different from us! From me! Always!" Kira blinked as Sai added, "I…I can't help being a little jealous when I'm around you!"

"But…you're different from me too, Sai," Kira smiled, "Sure, there are some things that I can do that you can't, but…there are some things that you can do that I can't either." As Sai thought about this, Ryo had returned to his room and was busy organizing his belongings so he could put them back in their proper places.

"Okay, where did they put my pencil case?" he muttered as he dug through the box, "I could've sworn I left it with this folder here…" All of a sudden, he heard the door hiss open and he looked up to see Tiffa standing by the doorway. "Oh, hey, Tiffa," Ryo smiled and then gestured at the items strewn around the room, "You'll have to deal with the mess for a little while…I'm still trying to get this room back together."

"I see," Tiffa giggled and then asked, "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Ryo nodded as he turned back to the box, "Just mind your step…I've got a lot of crap lying around here…" Tiffa smiled and walked into the room, carefully avoiding the items that were scattered about the floor before taking a seat on a chair.

"…I'm glad you're back," she said after a while.

"Well, it's nice to know Kira and I were missed," Ryo chuckled as he continued to sift through his belongings, "But yeah…it's good to be back here…" There was silence until Ryo looked up over his shoulder and asked, "Did you…need something, Tiffa?"

"Oh, no," Tiffa replied hastily, her cheeks reddening a bit, "I just…" Looking around for an excuse, she added, "Do…do you need some help?"

"No thanks, I'm fine," Ryo smiled, "But thanks for the offer anyway." Tiffa nodded as Ryo went back to looking but a few minutes later, he looked up again and said, "Um…you know what? I think I could use some help after all."

"What do you need?" Tiffa asked, getting up out of her seat and walking over to him.

"I kind of need you to help me find my pencil case…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

That night, up in PLANT, the rain was coming down heavily, but it didn't bother Athrun as he stopped in front of an abandoned building. This particular structure was the old White Symphony Theatre, which was where Lacus had first performed in public. The theatre had been abandoned for several years now, which showed by the worn walls and the tattered banners that advertised Lacus' concerts that hung from large poles. Athrun figured that if his guess as to where Lacus was hiding was right, she would be here. "This is way too easy," Athrun thought as he walked inside, clutching Haro with his recovering arm, "It's almost like she wants me to find her…but why?" As he entered the building, he glanced around at the debris that littered the floor from the crumbling foundation. All of a sudden, his ears caught the faint sounds of a song coming from the auditorium. Straining his ears, he began to make out the words as he moved closer to the stairs.

"_The night-time fills the sky._

_Stars alive,_

_Go floating by._

_So still the evening air,_

_So warm and soft, _

_Peace everywhere."_

"That's Lacus' voice…" he muttered as he drew a gun from his jacket pocket and moved up the stairs, "It has to be her!"

"_I see a world in harmony,_

_A world of peace and humanity."_

Reaching the top of the stairs, Athrun crept over to the open door and pointed his gun around the corner to make sure no one was there. Once certain it was clear, Athrun hurried over to the other door and leaned against one while slowly opening the other. Peering around, he saw that the stage lights were on, illuminating the debris-littered stage and a blotch of pink sitting on the middle of it. "Lacus…" he muttered.

"_Where people walk free,_

_Like water in a stream,_

_Flowing on, forever more."_

As Athrun walked down the aisles, he began to see Lacus more clearly. She was sitting on a piece of debris and wearing a pale blue strap-less dress, with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders so that she wore them on her arms. Her hair was tied up into two pig-tails with matching ribbons and instead of her normal gold crescent hair-clip, she was wearing one that looked like three circles with crescent moons in them, one overlapping another; it was essentially the same outfit that she had worn to her first concert. Even as she sang, he began to think back to Kira, from his encounter with him back on ORB, to their chaotic battle in the Marshall Islands, and then up to the moment when he used the Aegis as a bomb to finally finish the Strike off for good.

"_The breezes softly blow,_

_Caressing warm,_

_So sweet and low_

_Upon me cheek, I can feel_

_Tenderly, a kiss so real._

_Like a brush from a hand I cannot see._

_The sound of a voice deep inside of my heart._

_So I dream of a new day coming for all the world to see._

_Lift your eyes and see a new day dawning._

_A dream that will soon come true,_

_The day that we waited for."_

-----------------------------

"_Someone gets killed for killing another…and then that guy gets killed for killing him…how's that twisted sort of thing ever going to bring peace?"_

-----------------------------

"_Lift your heart and see the future form a song._

_And though the road ahead is long, I'll hold it in my hands,_

_Someday, somehow, I'll pull through…"_

The peaceful scene was suddenly broken by a very loud "NO PROBLEM!" from Haro, followed by an equally loud, "LACUS!"

"Oh! Why hello there, Mr. Pink!" Lacus giggled as the toy landed in her hands before turned to Athrun, looking not at all surprised, "I figured that you would be the one to bring him here. Thank you very much, Athrun."

"Why, Lacus?" Athrun asked at once.

"Why what?" Lacus smiled as Athrun took a running leap onto the stage and faced her, gun still in hand.

"Explain yourself, Lacus," Athrun demanded, "What have you done?"

"I'm sure you've heard all about it," Lacus shrugged, still smiling, "That's the reason why you came to see me, isn't it?"

"Is it true what they're saying about you? That you've been lending assistance to enemy spies?" Athrun asked, "How could you do something like that, Lacus?"

"I did not lend assistance to any spies," Lacus replied calmly, much to Athrun's surprise.

"Huh?" Athrun blinked, "Then…what did you do?"

"All I did was give Kira and Ryo…" Lacus smiled, "Newer and better swords…" At this, Athrun almost reeled in surprise, not having expected this kind of answer as Lacus continued, "Because I felt that they had need for them now, and that they would serve their purpose best in their hands."

"Kira and Ryo?" Athrun exclaimed, "What are you talking about, Lacus? Kira and Ryo are gone! I…"

"Killed them with your own hands?" Lacus finished for him and at his surprised look, she added in a more gentle tone, "Don't look so worried…it's true, Kira and Ryo are both still alive."

"You're lying!" Athrun suddenly shouted and pointed his gun at her, "What kind of trick are you trying to pull here, Lacus Clyne?" Even though he tried to stay calm, he couldn't stop his hand from shaking a bit as he continued, "What you're saying is crazy! It's impossible…there's no way they could be alive!"

"Reverend Malchio found them unconscious and brought them to me," Lacus told him, still calm despite having a gun pointed at her face, "Then I learned what happened between the three of you, Kira told me." As Athrun looked at her curiously, she added, "Don't you believe what I'm telling you? Do you even believe what you see with your own eyes? On the battlefield, or now that you've returned to the PLANTs after being away for so long, haven't you noticed that things are different now?" At this, Athrun lowered his gun to think. Slowly, he began to realize that Lacus was right; things had indeed changed around here ever since he had gotten back. However, there was still one thing bothering him.

"Lacus," he said, "When it comes to your question, I have to admit that you're right, things have changed here. But…even if Kira and Ryo are somehow alive…why did you give them those Mobile Suits?"

"Kira and Ryo are no longer in the Earth Forces…but they are not with ZAFT either," Lacus replied, "They both said that they would be fighting only for what they believe in from now on." As Athrun looked on, Lacus asked him, "But what is it that you believe in, Athrun? What is it that you're fighting for now? Is if for that medal you received? For your father's orders?"

"Lacus!"

"Because if that is so, then you may find yourself fighting Kira and Ryo as their enemy again," Lacus told him, "And this time, you'll be fighting me too." As she got up and approached Athrun, neither of them heard the cars pulling up outside or the men entering the theater while she said, "So if I'm to be your enemy, you might as well shoot me now. Athrun Zala, _Soldier of ZAFT_!" Athrun hesitated, lowering his gun as her words sank in. He had always known Lacus as a sweet, naïve girl who couldn't see the evil in people. And now, here he was, being lectured on what he should be fighting against by the same Lacus.

"It's…" he stammered, "It's all so…" Before either had another chance to speak, they heard the doors burst open and both of them looked up to see men in dark suits filing into the auditorium, each one armed with a silenced hand gun. Instinctively, Athrun placed himself in front of Lacus, pointing his own gun at them as he glanced around to count how many he was up against.

"Excellent work, Athrun Zala," one of them said, "The Chairman will be pleased."

"What?" Athrun blinked, confused by the statement.

"I see you really are her fiancé…" the agent said as he advanced onto the stage, "That was better for us, of course. Now then, please move aside." Athrun's only answer was to point his hand gun at the new threat and move to cover Lacus, "She's a fugitive wanted to treason. We have orders to execute her on the spot if she resists. Will you still protect her?"

"No way…" Athrun frowned, "That's not what my father told me…" All of a sudden, a gun shot rang out and one of the agents fell dead with a hole through his skull. Without hesitating to see what had happened, Athrun wheeled around and scooped Lacus up under his good arm before running behind a large piece of debris while the agents shot at him. Another two shots rang out and two more agents fell to the assailants. Athrun, however, was pinned down by three agents behind the debris he was hiding behind and he couldn't move from his position since all three of them were shooting at him. "Dammit!" he swore, "If only…" Suddenly, two shots sounded nearby and two agents fell onto the stage. The third one quickly moved up against the other side of the debris before wheeling about around the side. Before either he or Athrun could shoot, someone else had already shot him through the head and he soon lay in a puddle of his own blood.

"Ms. Lacus," a voice said from around the debris and the two looked to see none other than Martin Dacosta with a gun in his hand, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Lacus smiled and turned to Athrun, "Thanks for the save, Athrun."

"We need to get going, Ms. Lacus," Dacosta said as other soldiers began to emerge from the shadows, "It's too dangerous here."

"What about Reverend Malchio?" Lacus asked, "Is he okay?"

"He's gotten away safely," Dacosta nodded.

"Well then, Athrun, thank you for bringing Mr. Pink here," Lacus smiled.

"Thank you! Thank yooooou!" Haro chirped.

"You'll find Kira and Ryo on Earth," Lacus added as she turned to leave, "I suggest you go and have a talk with them…they are your friends, after all…"

"Lacus…" Athrun muttered as he watched her leave, "What…what should I do?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Sound the A-55 alarm! Radiation levels are normal. Course clear. All stations have clearance for take off. Countdown to commence at T-minus 200." It had been six days since Athrun had met Lacus at the White Symphony Theatre. By now, his arm had fully recovered and at the moment, he was sitting at the controls of his new Justice Gundam, wearing his pilot suit as he made some last minute calibrations to the controls. Even as he slowly worked, though he thought back to what Lacus had told him that night.

-----------------------------

"_But what is it that you believe in, Athrun? What is it that you're fighting for now? Is if for that medal you received? For your father's orders?"_

-----------------------------

"_You'll find Kira and Ryo on Earth. I suggest you go and have a talk with them…they are your friends, after all…"_

-----------------------------

The Justice's eyes flashed green as Athrun finished updating the O.S. and the said bluenette pressed a button on the dashboard, activating the Justice's crimson Phase Shift armor as the cables attached to it blew off. "Key lines 55-58 are in effect, gate separation from X09A confirmed. Standby for take off."

"Kira…Ryo…" Athrun muttered at the airlocks above the Justice opened one by one, "What are you guys thinking now?"

"T-minus 5," the technician announced as Athrun pushed a control stick forward and the Justice's thrusters began to warm, "May our Justice have the divine protection of the stars!"

"Athrun Zala!" Athrun said, "Justice, launching!" With that, the Justice crouched before springing up, its thrusters propelling it through the airlock. Outside, a brilliant streak of red shot through space as the wings on the Justice's Fatum-00 pack deployed and Athrun Zala began his fateful journey to the blue Earth.

Phase 36: End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Oops, I didn't notice that until you mentioned it. Oh well, I'll probably have him use it again anyway. As for Tiffa, she's not going to pilot a Mobile Suit. Period.

Light of the Demons- Yeah, I always wondered how that one missile did so much more damage to the ship than all the others.

Ominae- Haven't seen it yet, but I'll see if I can catch it later.

Gojiro17- The ZAFT pilots that landed on the Archangel left. It was only a temporary stay.

Warp Ligia Obscura- Ryo existed in the world of C.E. from the start. Remember, the other life he lived was a result of his coma.


	38. Divine Thunder

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 37: Divine Thunder

_May 18, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory_

An ORB plane, with Kisaka at the controls, flew low over the territorial waters of the nation as it passed by the Archangel, which was making its way towards the cliff-side dock. After a full week of cruising through the ocean, the battered ship had finally made it to Onogoro Island, the only place that they knew guaranteed a safe harbor. Everyone on the bridge was tired, especially Murrue, since she had been up for longer than the rest of the bridge crew. Upon seeing the cliff face open up, though, everyone breathed an audible sigh of relief as the Archangel turned around and started backing into the dock. Inside, up on the observation deck, a small group had gathered to watch the Archangel enter and finally come to a stop. Amongst them was Erica Simmons, Uzumi Nara Athha, and of course, Cagalli, who was dressed in her uniform. "Lock down the Archangel! Open the maintenance hatches and begin repairs at once!"

"I can't blame them for running back here so soon…" Uzumi sighed, "After everything that has happened…" All of a sudden, Cagalli turned and broke off from the main group, hurrying out of the room and a few minutes later, Uzumi saw her run out onto the dock and onto a ramp connecting the Archangel to the dock. After entering the ship, Cagalli hurried through the hallways to the lift, which she still remembered how to use from the last time she was there. Upon opening it, however, she had to stop short to let two doctors pass by. They were wheeling a stretcher that was carrying a badly injured soldier, who it was, Cagalli couldn't tell but she brushed it off as she got into the lift and closed the door. Meanwhile, Kira was walking through the hallways on a different part of the ship when all of a sudden, he was ambushed and pulled into a friendly head-lock by Ryo.

"Hey, Kira," Ryo grinned as he messed up the said brunette's already messy hair, "Guess what day it is…"

"Um…" Kira stammered, "It's, uh…Tuesday?"

"You dumb ass! It's your birthday!" Ryo exclaimed, giving Kira a smack upside the head as he let go of him, "And you know what _that_ means, don't you?"

"Uh…" Kira blinked, although he was sure he knew what was coming, "Presents?"

"Close…" Ryo grinned as he cracked his knuckles, "It's payback time, buddy boy…"

"C-Come on, Ryo!" Kira stuttered as he backed away with his hands raised, "I…I didn't hit you that hard…did I?"

"Second after Cagalli…" Ryo replied and wound up. Before he could throw a punch, however, Kira suddenly wheeled around and ran away as fast as he could, prompting Ryo to give chase. "Kira!" Ryo shouted, "Don't even try to run away! You know I'm can run faster than you!" Kira didn't reply, as he was saving his breath so that he would have enough to possibly escape. "You hear me, Yamato?" Ryo repeated, "I'm gonna catch you eventually! You might as well hold still and get this over with now!" By now, Cagalli had reached the same general area that Ryo and Kira were running through and she paused when she heard a familiar voice shouting.

"Ryo…?" Cagalli muttered and then her amber eyes widened when she saw two familiar teenage boys run past in the opposite hallway, "Kira!" Even as she started running after them, Ryo continued to chase Kira down the hallway, intent on exacting a little revenge. Thinking quickly, Kira ducked into another hallway and sped along into another one, managing to hide just before Ryo poked his head around the corner.

"What the hell?" Ryo blinked as he went on, right past Kira's hiding spot, "I could've sworn I saw him go this way…" Kira waited until the footsteps had faded and then he peeked out from the hallway he was hiding in.

"Phew! Lost him!" Kira said when he saw the coast was clear, breathing a sigh of relief, "Now I'd better avoid him for the day…" Just as he stepped out of his hiding spot, however, he heard rushed footsteps again and he thought, "Shoot! How'd he get there so fast!"

"Kira!" a different voice called out and then someone rounded the corner. The flash of blonde hair that Kira saw hurtling at him told him that it wasn't Ryo, but rather…

"C-Caga-oof!" Kira sputtered as the said blonde threw herself at him, her inertia causing him to stumble and then fall onto his back. Even as he struggled the recover the wind that had been knocked out of him, he felt something that felt like a fist pounding his chest.

"You…You are such an idiot!" the blonde screamed and Kira's eyes focused to see a very distraught looking Cagalli, though he was still a bit dazed from hitting his head on the floor, "You…I thought I'd never see you again! How could you do that to me…?"

"Sorry…" Kira smiled as tears started to leak from Cagalli's eyes, neither seemed to have notice that she was still lying on him.

"You…you really are alive…" Cagalli stuttered as she propped herself up on her knees and elbows, "Right?"

"Yeah, I'm alive," Kira nodded, still smiling, "I'm back…"

"Aha! I finally…whoa! Hello!" a voice suddenly exclaimed and they looked up to see Ryo standing there, "I knew you guys had a special bond and all, but…I didn't think it was like this!" The two blinked before looking at each other and realizing the position that they were both in.

"It-It's nothing like that!" Cagalli fumed as she hurriedly got up onto her feet, allowing Kira some room to stand as well as she wiped her eyes, "I'm just glad to see him, that's all!"

"Right," Ryo nodded, "So how come I don't get a hello too?"

"I was going to give you one," Cagalli scoffed, "But, since you insist on greeting me like that…"

"I'm stabbed," Ryo sighed, putting his hand over his heart as he feigned a hurt expression, "I thought we were tight, Cagalli."

"You…" Cagalli said, trying to come up with a retort, but ended up going over to him and pulling Ryo into a hug as well.

"Um…" Ryo blinked, "Okay…not really what I was expecting, but…" After a little while and a few pats on the back, Ryo put his hands between himself and Cagalli and gave gentle push, "Okay, okay, happy feely time is over now…"

"Sorry," Cagalli said as she let go and stepped back, "It's just…when I heard you two were alive…I was kind of scared to actually believe it…"

"Oh ye of little faith," Ryo laughed, "You didn't really think we'd die that easily, did you?"

"Of course not!" Cagalli replied, crossing her arms, "It was just…hard to believe that anyone could survive something like that…"

"Well, we are alive, whether you like it or not," Ryo smiled and then said to Kira, who was steadily inching away, "And don't think that this means I'm letting you go!" When Cagalli gave him a confused look, he explained as he flexed his fingers, "Birthday punches. Care to join in?"

"For me?" Cagalli blinked.

"No, for him," Ryo said, "What do you mean for you?"

"Well…" Cagalli replied a bit hesitantly, "Today's…kind of my birthday too…" As the two pilots looked at each other in surprise, the senior officers of the Archangel were meeting with Lord Uzumi and Kisaka on the bridge, along with a few other ORB officials.

"We really can't thank you enough for allowing us to come here again," Murrue said as she bowed, "Even after everything that you've done already."

"It's quite alright," Uzumi nodded, "However, you must understand that as tense as the situation is, I must ask that you and your crew to remain on board your ship for a while. However, you'll be able to rest easier now that you're here."

"Of course," Murrue smiled, "Thank you."

"After the events of the Alaska battle, the world is drastically changing once again," Uzumi said, "We'll discuss more of this after you've had some rest. Perhaps you should think some things over while you listen to the reports as well…especially the meaning of the uniform that you all wear." Meanwhile, as the meeting was going on, the other students were sitting in the cafeteria finishing their meals.

"Finally…" Sai muttered as he finished downing a cup of water, "We can actually eat without having to worry…"

"Hey," Kuzzey suddenly said, "What's going to happen now that we're here?"

"What do you mean?" Sai asked.

"Well, we're not exactly soldiers anymore," Kuzzey explained, "So…"

"Hold on," Sai frowned, "Why not?"

"Didn't we quit the Earth Forces two days ago?" Kuzzey asked, "So, since we're not in the Earth Forces any more…doesn't that mean we're also not soldiers too?"

"Running off in the middle of a battle is a military offence," Sai told him, "No exceptions." There was a bit of silence before Kuzzey dug into the pocket of his uniform.

"You know…" Kuzzey said, "I still have this from before…do you think it's still effective?" Saying that, he pulled out a folded piece of paper out from his pocket before unfolding it to reveal the discharge paper given to him when the Archangel had met up with the 8th Fleet. At this, Sai suddenly got up to leave and Kuzzey called out, "Hey, Sai! Where are you…?"

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Sai replied nonchalantly and it was at this point that Miriallia and Tiffa got up as well, bringing their trays with them.

"Wha…?" Kuzzey blinked as he watched them go, "Oh, come on, guys!"

"Sorry, Kuzzey," Tiffa apologized, "But I'm supposed to be helping out in the hangar in a little bit." Miriallia, who had completely ignored Kuzzey, had gone to the counter and set her empty tray down there.

"Thank you!" she called into the kitchen.

"No prob'!" one of the cooks called back.

"Hey, why's this tray still sitting here?" Miriallia asked, pointing at a still full tray that was sitting on a shelf.

"Eh? Oh, that's the prisoner's meal," the cook replied, "I thought I already asked someone to take it to him…" Miriallia shrugged and started to walk out the door but as she was about to, she suddenly found herself remembering what Dearka had said before.

-----------------------------

"_Oh, well then…it wasn't me…"_

-----------------------------

As Miriallia went back into the cafeteria, Kira and Cagalli were standing on a platform directly in front of the de-active Freedom while the latter explained what had happened after the Archangel had left ORB. "So…you met Athrun, huh?" Kira asked when Cagalli told him about how she had found the bluenette on the beach.

"Yeah, I found him when we went looking for you and Ryo," Cagalli nodded, remembering the time she had spent with the ZAFT pilot, "He was pretty gloomy…he kept crying because he thought he killed you two…"

"Well…" Kira sighed, "Back before that battle, we killed one of Athrun's friends…and then in return, Athrun killed Tolle. It couldn't have been avoided…for either Athrun or us…"

"You guys were friends when you were kids, right?" Cagalli asked, "You and Athrun?"

"Yeah, Athrun was a reliable guy," Kira smiled as he recalled his childhood, "He actually used to be my tutor when we were in Prep School. He always gave me a hand in my studies."

"Then…why are you fighting for the Earth Forces?" Cagalli asked, "Even if it means fighting a guy like him?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you know…" Cagalli said, "You're a Coordinator and all…so why fight someone who's like you?"

"I thought that if I didn't…then everyone would die," Kira explained, "I'm a Coordinator, yes. But, to tell you the truth, I never really believed that I would ever kill Athrun…or that Athrun would ever kill me." While the two were talking, Ryo was sitting in the cockpit of the Double X, staring at the flash drive the Siegel Clyne had given to him.

"He said that it was from my mother…" Ryo thought, "I wonder…is this another one of her messages?" Deciding to give it a try, he inserted the flash drive into a slot and the screen lit up with what looked like a download bar in the middle. When it had filled, Ryo was surprised to see that instead of a video, a message popped up on the screen. "Error: please insert drive number two," he read off the screen and sweat-dropped when he saw an empty slot next to the one he had put the flash drive in, "Oh, real funny, mom." Meanwhile, Miriallia had entered the prison cell, where Dearka was sleeping. In her hands was the neglected tray, since she had volunteered to bring it to him.

"Your meal," she said softly, although it was enough to wake Dearka up as she slid the tray beneath the door to his cell, "They were arguing about who was going to bring it; sorry for the wait." There was a brief pause before Miriallia realized that Dearka was staring at her and she gave him an annoyed look, "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Dearka grinned sheepishly, a bit embarrassed at being caught, "I just didn't think that you'd be the one to bring it."

"What do you mean 'you'?"

"Oh, sorry," Dearka said hastily, "I meant 'Ms. You'."

"It's Miriallia, alright?" she told him irritably, "Don't call me 'you' or anything like that."

"You mean…" Dearka blinked, "I can call you by name?"

"No!" Miriallia huffed and turned to leave.

"Hey! Wait a second!" Dearka called out, springing from his bed.

"What?"

"What's with this ship? When am I getting out of here?" Dearka asked through the bars, "I know that there hasn't been a battle for the past few days, so what's going on?"

"I know that!" Miriallia replied hotly, "It can't be helped, okay?"

"That doesn't answer my question! What's going on here?" Dearka frowned, "And when are they letting me out?"

"We're in ORB, alright?" Miriallia said, now very annoyed, "But if you must know, we can't leave the ship either. Besides, it doesn't really matter to me what happens to you…"

"Huh?" Dearka blinked as he watched her leave the cell, his meal forgotten by his feet, "When'd she start acting like that again?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"A Cyclops bomb?" Uzumi frowned, "But…even if the Earth Forces had gotten wind of ZAFT's plans beforehand, it can only be said that the tactic was a last resort if there was no other way. However…it has been confirmed that the Alaska battle cost ZAFT more than 80 of its assault force. Whoever planned this must be rejoicing right now. However, although this is a rough calculation…is this outcome is now?" It was night time, and the senior officers of the Archangel, along with the two pilots and Cagalli, had gathered in Uzumi's office for a meeting. Having just described what had happened at Alaska, Uzumi had picked up a remote and turned on the television to show a broadcast from Kaoshiung.

"Our troops fought against the ZAFT invaders bravely, down the very last ship!" the speaker, Brian Wan Tson, declared, "It is with great sadness that we engrave this day in our history…the day that JOSH-A fell…"

"Tsch…what does he know?" Ryo scoffed quietly, "I bet he's never even held a gun before…"

"But we will not yield to them!" he continued, "This planet, our Earth, is our home! What right do the Coordinators have to deny our passage to space?" The screen showed images of the condition of the battlefield and the wounded soldiers, as well as several civilians who had been injured in the blast, "The sacrifices were tremendous, but we must all stand together and overcome them!" The screen shifted to crowds of people holding riots in towns, carrying signs bearing anti-Coordinator slogans, "For the safety and peace of our Earth! And to preserve our future! We must now gather our strength as one and fight against those arrogant Coordinators!"

"Man, I knew that things would get pretty ugly after that battle, but…" Mu said as Uzumi shut off the television, "I can't believe how much the tension's escalated."

"Yes, the Atlantic Federation is even starting to put more pressure on all of the neutral territories left on Earth," Uzumi nodded, "They're pushing them by saying that they will be treated as a hostile nation if they don't join the Earth Forces as an ally. ORB, of course, is no exception…"

"All they want is ORB's technological power," Cagalli frowned, "They don't care what happens to us as long as they get the stuff they want."

"I'm sure that you all know this already, but…" Uzumi continued, ignoring Cagalli's outburst, "ORB has never shown any prejudice towards the Coordinators. We are, in fact, more than happy to welcome anyone who is willing to abide by ORB's laws into our country. We believe that no one should be judged by whether or not his or her genes were altered" While Uzumi was talking, Cagalli snuck a glance at Kira, who turned to her with Ryo and she edged to the side a bit when she realized that she had been caught. "Cagalli being a Natural…" Uzumi said, turning to the teens, "And Kira and Ryo being Coordinators is something that they had no control over." At this, everyone turned to look at Cagalli and her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

"That's correct," Kira nodded, although he was still amused by Cagalli's embarrassment.

"It's because of this that I can't accept the demands of the Atlantic Federation, telling us to attack 'mankind's enemy', the Coordinators, for just those reasons," Uzumi told them, "Just who and what are we fighting for?"

"But…" Mu said, "Well, I understand what you're saying and all, but excuse me when I ask if that isn't just a personal ideal. Even if we were to accept it as the truth, it's not gonna stop the Coordinators from looking down on the Naturals or the Naturals from envying the Coordinators. That's just the reality of it."

"Yes, I know, and you are absolutely right," Uzumi nodded as he got up from his seat, "Of course, this doesn't mean that the problems of our country are being solved all at once. But, if we were to give up just because of that, then we'd definitely be headed towards our own destruction. Regretting our decision after the outcome has already happened would already mean that it's too late. Or…if that's how the world really is, are you people simply going to adapt to every circumstance that's thrown at you?" The last question left the others surprised as he added, "The choice is up to all of you to make. If you really can't let go of those uniforms, then I will still do what I can to help you. You people have your youth and strength. I believe that you'll be able to accomplish it…the future that we all desire. There's still time."

"What do you think, Lord Uzumi?" Kira suddenly asked, "What are you going to do?"

"The sword is no longer something to be put up as a mere decoration," Uzumi told him, "That is what I believe."

"Then in that case…" Ryo said as Kira smiled a bit, "You can consider my mind made up."

-----------------------------------------------------------

A week later, up in space, ZAFT was preparing for a second major offensive, despite the heavy losses sustained at Alaska. This time, however, its forces had converged on Panama, where the Earth Forces' final remaining Mass Driver stood. The sun was just coming up as the Vosgulov submarines on the surface launched their cruise missiles while down below, more of them began launching their Mobile Suits. "Launch of Harold team and Harrison team confirmed. Commence launching of Serizawa team and Krueger support team." Meanwhile, the surface submarines had finished their missile volleys and were now launching the airborne Mobile Suits, including the fully repaired Duel.

"Panama…the homeland might be asking too much of us this time," one Captain sighed, "We just don't have the forces."

"We really don't have much of a choice," Rau replied, as he wasn't going out to fight today, "The Chairman and the PLANTs will be in serious trouble unless we can disrupt the momentum that the Earth Forces has gained from Alaska. To do that, we much lock all the doors to space, and confine them to Earth by destroying Panama's Mass Driver."

"What about the Gungnir?"

"Everything is going as planned," Rau told him, knowing that several Laurasia-class ships were already hovering above the target, waiting for the command, "The only problem now is on the ground, we have to capture the drop-point before the descent. However, seeing that everyone's morale is being boosted by their desire to avenge those lost at Alaska…I don't see why that would be a problem…" Later, Rau had returned to his quarters on board the submarine and stepped into the room after swiping his identification card through the slot. As soon as he stepped in, a certain red-head got up with a gun in her hands pointed at him. "The battle will start soon," Rau said, not bothered by the gun, "While the Earth Forces are celebrating their little victory, we're going to attack the Panama Mass Driver with every unit we have left. Would you like to watch?" Even though Flay didn't say anything, he continued, "I must apologize for dragging you about with me but…I'm afraid that there's little I can do about that order."

"Why did you bring me here?" Flay snarled, although her voice was audibly shaky.

"Heh, you're already living on borrowed time, aren't you, Flay Alster?" Rau smirked, "Back in Alaska, you would've been equally dead whether I had shot you or simply let you run off." As Flay tensed, he added, "And you would die within moments if you were to shoot me now; the soldiers would hear. Of course, if you didn't want them to finish you off, I suppose you could always just point the gun at yourself and pull the trigger." After another pause, he said calmly, "I assume the gun _is_ loaded…" Even as Flay's finger slowly tightened around the trigger, the first volley of missiles made impact with the mainland, igniting explosions everywhere while the airborne Mobile Suits reached the target ground. Missile silos quickly opened up and fired at the approaching Mobile Suits but though they were able to take a few out, they had been caught completely by surprise and several silos were destroyed by the Duel. However, despite the harassment of the defenses, the Mobile Suits pushed on past them, occasionally blowing up a turret or another silo. The aquatic Mobile Suits were also beginning to approach the land but since they were slower out of the water, they were easier prey for the heavy guns mounted on the shore. One ZnO was gunned down by one such turret but another one popped out of the water and destroyed it with its missiles, while a Ginn fired off heavy missiles to take out the rest. "On the battlefield, life is cheap," Rau told Flay even as the Earth Force's large fighters engaged the Ginns on the ground, "It's lost in an instant."

"Ahh! Mother!" one of the pilots cried as a shot from a Ginn's assault rifle split his craft in two and blew his cockpit apart.

"And yet everyone is fighting for their country and their loyalty," Rau said as Earth Forces soldiers on the ground were also wiped out, "But…I suppose that those kinds of things won't make sense to you." He walked past her even as she slowly lowered her gun, "You may wear the uniform, but you are no soldier…am I correct?"

-----------------------------

"Panama?" Murrue exclaimed, getting up from her seat, "When?" The crew of the Archangel had been going about their usual business when Kisaka had brought word of the siege going on at Panama. Naturally, they didn't take the news very well.

"They've been under attack since this morning," Kisaka told her, "We don't know the full details yet."

"Are they after the Mass Driver?" Mu asked.

"The Earth Forces' main force is currently at Panama," Kisaka said, "ZAFT is going to be having a hard time there as well. Although, I'm sure that the Earth Forces is going to be quite disorganized by now…" Back at Panama, the attack was beginning to escalate as the ZAFT forces steadily moved inward, dispersing the defenders while they desperately called for support.

"This is the Third Defense Force!" one such soldier called into his radio, "Requesting immediate support! Send reinforcements now!" Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the broadcast because his companion had yanked him away from the radio and out of the tent before a Ginn flattened it with its foot. On another part of the battlefield, the linear tanks were putting up a brave fight against the Ginns, but only managed to take out a few before they were wiped out. Another soldier manning a heavy turret, failed to see a ZnO approach him until it was literally in his face and by then, it was too late and all he could do was scream as it smashed the turret with its claw.

"Damn you! You filthy space monsters!" another shouted as he blasted away at a Ginn, "I'll send you all straight to hell!" Although his words were bold, all that he did was attract the Ginn's attention and give it a cause to smash his turret with its Ginn Saber. A little while off, a ZnO was trudging up a hill when all of a sudden, it stepped on a mine and it exploded, taking the ZnO with it.

-----------------------------

"Is it true that Panama's being attacked right now?" Sai asked as he hurried over to Neumann and Tonomura, with Kuzzey and Miriallia at his heels. The three of them had just gotten word of the attack on Panama and they wanted to hear for themselves.

"Yeah," Neumann nodded as he walked past them, "So it seems."

"Already?" Miriallia sighed, "So many lives were just lost at Alaska…"

-----------------------------

"An enemy Mobile Suit team has breached the Second Defense Line!"

"Third Defense Force! Come in Third Defense Force! What's going on out there?"

"Damn!" an officer swore, "They caught us completely with our pants down!" The headquarters at Panama was currently in a state of panic as officers rushed about, trying to respond to the ensuing attack as quickly as they could.

"Send the Eighth Air Defense Squadron to the south!"

"Deploy the Thirteenth Autonomous Corp.!" the head officer ordered, causing a few officers to look at him in surprise.

"Are you sure about that, Commander?" one asked, "I don't think we have to resort to that…"

"This is why we developed our own Mobile Suit corps.!" the officer replied, "Now let's show those space monsters what we're really made of!"

-----------------------------

"Course clear! Launch the Gungnir!" Up above in space, the Laurasia-class ships opened their cargo bays and dropped five canisters down towards Earth.

"The Gungnir launch was a success!" an officer on one of the Vosgulov submarines down below announced, "They'll be landing in a few minutes." Rau checked his watch while Flay sulked in his room, still holding the gun in her hand. On the shore, a lone Ginn wandered about before spotting a small convoy of assault vehicles and easily destroyed them with its assault rifle.

"Tsch, this is no fun," the pilot smirked as another Ginn came up. All of a sudden, the sound of a beam rifle firing was heard and a bright green beam of energy lanced through the head of his Ginn, destroying it. Surprised, everyone present turned to see a strange-looking Mobile Suit crouched on a hill-side. It appeared to be a very bad rendition of the Strike, with a blue torso and arms but its shoulders, waist, and legs were light grey. It has a single beam saber on its back and a more compact beam rifle and shield in its hands. Its head was blue but lacked the V-fin and yellow eye-pieces, having instead a single antenna on the right side of the head and a blue visor.

"What the hell is that?" one of the pilots blinked as the new Mobile Suit took to the air.

"Is that the Earth Forces' Mobile Suit? The Strike?" another asked as the said Mobile Suit fired a few bursts from its beam rifle before landing in front of them.

"No! That's not it!" Yzak told them as he flew in on his Guul. And sure enough, it wasn't the Strike at all, rather the Earth Forces' new mass-produced Mobile Suit; the GAT-01 Strike Dagger. Unlike the original Strike, the Strike Dagger had a new operating system designed for Naturals but due to the fact that it was mass-produced, it had been greatly simplified and thus lacked the powerful Phase Shift Armor and the overall high performance of the original Strike. Nonetheless, the Earth Forces was willing to take what they got and so put them as reserve units in case something like this happened. At that moment, another beam of energy pierced one of the Ginns from behind and destroyed it, causing the other to turn around and see five more Strike Daggers behind it.

"You won't have things so easy from now on!" one of the Strike Dagger pilots exclaimed.

"All you Coordinators are just a little too cocky!" another smirked.

-----------------------------

Back in ORB, Murrue was in her room, staring at her uniform jacket that was hanging on the wall as she contemplated what Uzumi had said a week ago. In the hangar, Mu had walked up in front of the deactive Freedom and Double X. "Thinking of being a Mobile Suit pilot, Commander?" someone asked and he turned to see Ryo and Kira walking up to him.

"Nah, just taking a good look at them," Mu replied, "Although…that might not be such a bad idea now that I think about it."

-----------------------------

"Oh? What's this?" Rau said in an interested tone as he looked at the radar, "An Earth Forces Mobile Suit squad, huh?"

"They've been deployed all along the shoreline," the Captain told him, "Probably as a last resort defense measure."

"Heh, then this will be even more beneficial for us, watching these paper-weight Mobile Suits fight," Rau grinned, "Let's make them a sacrifice to the Gungnir…" Up on the shore, the ZAFT forces were struggling to get used to fighting against the new threats, as they weren't used to fighting other Mobile Suits. One Ginn decided to go head to head with a Strike Dagger with its Ginn Saber, only to have the attack deflected by the Strike Dagger's shield and then its arm was sliced off by its yellow beam saber. "Even if they're prepared against an EMP burst…" Rau said even as the Ginn was attacked by two more Strike Daggers and destroyed with their beam sabers, "We'll have already gotten an idea of what they can do." Meanwhile, Yzak had grown tired of fighting from the air and had the Duel leap from its Guul, descending towards the ground.

"Don't mess with me!" Yzak snarled as he fired all of the Duel's weapons, taking out several Strike daggers before landing and destroying two more with its beam rifle. Up above, the canisters that had been dropped earlier had made it through the atmosphere and had ejected their sides before expanding, revealing a number pad on the interior. Attached boosters on the canisters ignited to slow them down before they touched down on the ground, where a few Ginns were waiting at each spot. One of the Ginns approached the object and hit the red button on the pad, ejecting the cover on the panel and began entering the code as the other provided covering fire, although it was shortly destroyed by the Strike Daggers. As soon as the code was fully entered, the top half of the canister slid up to reveal a large black sphere in the middle. As the Strike Daggers began to get picked off by the flying Dinns, the Ginns moved to the "legs" of the canisters, removing large rods with red ends from their insides and attaching them to the sphere.

"There, setup of Canister Twelve is complete," one of the Ginn pilots declared as he set the last rod in place and then pressed a button on the panel, starting a countdown, "Eat this, you filthy Naturals!" All of a sudden, he heard an explosion behind him as his companion's Ginn was destroyed and he turned to see a lone Strike Dagger charging him with its saber drawn. Reacting quickly, he drew his Ginn's sword and attacked, hitting the Strike Dagger's shield before jumping back to avoid a swing from its saber. As the countdown reached its end, the Strike Dagger shoved its saber into the Ginn's torso, killing the pilot and destroying the Mobile Suit even as the counter reached zero. At that moment, the spheres in each canister exploded, sending out large waves of EMP particles throughout the area. Even as the spreading particles appeared on the radar of the Vosgulov submarines, the Strike Daggers started to malfunction and shut down, their armor being improperly suited to deal with electromagnetic weapons.

"My machine!" one pilot cried.

"It won't move…won't move!" another exclaimed as the screens in his cockpit went dark and he found that the controls were not responding, "Commander!" At the headquarters, the same problem was occurring as the screens suddenly shut off and static started to fly.

"What's going on?" the commander shouted, "What's happening?" Rau smirked in his submarine as the EMP blast continued onward, stretching across the rails of the Porta Panama Mass Driver. Unlike the other machines, the Mass Driver suffered the worst damage, as the EMP burst literally tore the railing to pieces before the Mass Driver itself collapsed into the ground. By the time it was over, the ZAFT had already begun it's final assault, bombarding the entire area with cruise missiles, including the headquarters. As for the immobilized Strike Daggers, the Ginn pilots moved about and shot through their cockpits at their leisure, laughing as they toppled over and exploded.

"Ha ha! Serves you right!" one laughed as he pushed one over and then shot it, "Are your toys broken?" Another Ginn stood before a linear tank, where its occupants had opened the hatches and were holding up their hands in surrender.

"Hannah was at Alaska!" the pilot snarled, aiming his Ginn's assault rifle before firing, "This is for her!" In another area, three Ginns had surrounded a camp where all of the soldiers were being led out with their hands up, including several wounded soldiers.

"Heh! We're not taking any Naturals prisoner!" one of the pilots sneered before the Ginns proceeded to slaughter everyone there. All over the battlefield, gunshots and screams of pain rang out as the ZAFT forces massacred the Earth Forces soldiers that had survived the initial bombardment. The only one not participating in the gruesome killing was, surprisingly, Yzak, who was standing by in disgust at the glee the others took in the slaughter.

"Tsch…" Yzak frowned, "What's the fun in shooting targets that don't even move?"

"Well, it looks like the curtains are about to open on a new stage," Rau smirked as he watched from the Vosgulov submarine, "This should be interesting…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"So, even though you're alone, you guys are still planning to fight?" Mu asked in the hangar of the Archangel, "It's not gonna be easy."

"We'll do our best," Kira told him, "It's true, things are desperate, but I don't think…this is the way to make things better."

"Yeah," Ryo nodded, "It's gotten pretty bad now, but it's probably not gonna end with just Panama."

"Kira! Ryo!" a voice called out and they turned to see Cagalli approaching them, "Erica Simmons told me to get you guys. I think she wants to show you something." Later, at the Morgenroete Factory, Erica Simmons led the three teens, Mu, and Murrue through a set of doors as she explained what was going on.

"Since you're back now, I thought that it'd be proper to return this to you," Erica told him and everyone present stopped, surprised at what was inside. There, standing in front of them, was the formerly destroyed Strike Gundam, completely repaired and as good as new. "We installed the O.S. that you had before the recovery after it was finished, but…" Erica said a bit sheepishly, "We figured that someone else would be piloting it, so…"

"Is it the one that they developed?" Mu asked, "The one that Naturals can use?"

"Yeah."

"I'll pilot it!" Cagalli suddenly said, causing everyone to look at her before she added, "Well, I'm gonna need permission first, of course, but…"

"Nope, you're not piloting it," Mu told her just as quickly.

"What? Why the hell not?" Cagalli exclaimed.

"Because _I'm_ going to pilot it," Mu replied simply.

"Eh? That's not fair!" Cagalli pouted even as Kira and Ryo smiled.

"Commander?" Murrue blinked, "What do you…"

"I'm not a Commander, anymore, Ms. Murrue," Mu smiled, "I've already made up my mind too." A while later, the Strike's eyes flashed as it stood up, Phase Shift Armor activated with its shield and a practice saber in hand.

"A sparring match?" Kira, who was wearing his pilot suit, asked from the Freedom, which was also activated with a practice saber while the others looked on from the observation deck, "Aren't we taking this a little fast?"

"Shut up and stop being arrogant," Mu grinned, also wearing his pilot suit, "Here I go!" With that, the Strike charged, holding its practice saber and shield in a striking position while Kira prepared to intercept the blow. Moving forward, he raised the Freedom's shield and blocked the fake saber, raising his own to counter attack.

"Yeah, the world's changing alright," Ryo thought with a small smile as he watched the two Mobile Suits spar, "But…maybe some of those changes will be for the better…"

Phase 37: End

To the reviewers:

Light of the Demons: I usually only put breaks if it's a major scene change, like from one day to another or for flashbacks.

Infinite Freedom: The first major reason why there won't be a Destiny fic will be made clear in probably the next few chapters. I never said I wasn't going to write a sequel, just that I'm not too sure on its outline yet. As for why Ryo's name wasn't mentioned to Zala, you can come up with your own explanation for that. Also, Tiffa and Ryo probably won't "hook up" until much later.


	39. Decisive Fire

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 38: Decisive Fire

_May 29, C.E. 71, Earth Alliance Headquarters, Greenland_

"This is humiliating! Our victory at Alaska is worthless now that we've lost Panama!"

"Our lunar base is going to run out of stores very quickly now that the supply route from Panama has been cut off!"

"How are we supposed to counter something like that?"

"Our plans to retake the Victoria Spaceport aren't going to go as easily without the Mass Driver." Currently, the Earth Alliance leadership was having a meeting in the new underwater headquarters at Greenland to discuss the current events. The news of the fall of Panama had caused much panic in their ranks and everyone was trying to come up with a solution. However, nothing seemed to be able to work, as they were also still undergoing preparations for their attempt to retake the Victoria Spaceport from ZAFT.

"What about ORB? What's their take on the situation?"

"We've repeatedly requested for their cooperation but that stubborn fool, Uzumi Nara Athha, refuses to see things our way!" As the leader argued back and forth, only one man seemed to be at all calm. His blonde hair and blue eyes gave him a rather innocent look, accented by his light blue business suit.

"Oh really?" he mused, drumming his fingers on the table in a bored way while resting his chin on his other hand, "Is it because they're…neutral?" When everyone present turned their attention to him, he added as he closed his hand, "That's just not right, is it? Not while all the others are fighting…man-kind's enemy…"

"Azrael…" one of the leaders winced, "We wish you wouldn't phrase that in such an extreme manner. Remember, we are _not_ Blue Cosmos nor do we share their ideals."

"Sorry, no offence was intended," Muruta Azrael, the head of Blue Cosmos, shrugged, "But I simply can't see why you continue to tolerate a nation like that. I think that we've reached the point in this war where being neutral is a luxury."

"But ORB is an independent sovereign nation," the same man frowned as Azrael shrugged again, "We have to acknowledge that fact."

"But ORB is also a nation of Earth. Therefore, they should be obligated to assist the Alliance," Azrael replied calmly, "Am I wrong?" As a few murmurs of agreement went throughout the room, he got up from his seat and added, "If you'd like, I'd gladly lead the negotiations. I'll handle ORB."

"What did you say?"

"The problem is the Mass Driver, isn't it? Why don't we just go and borrow theirs for a while?" Azrael asked, "As of now, who are they gonna side with? Or are they gonna just sit back and watch?"

"You have a point, but…"

"I insist…you must all be quite busy with the preparations for the Victoria attack. It's only fair that we share the responsibilities," Azrael smiled, although it was a bit cynical, "And while we're at it, we might even get to test the new toys."

"Are you seriously planning on using those units?"

"Well that, of course, will depend on ORB's response," Azrael replied with a smirk, "And if our dear friend Lord Athha is as respectable as everyone says he is…then I wouldn't be surprised if there's a rather interesting outcome in the end…"

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Two weeks later, an ORB Heli touched down near the Ministry of National Defense. As the hatch opened, two officers saluted while Cagalli climbed out of the Heli, saluting them as well before heading towards the building. Inside, after riding the elevator for a while, she came into a room where several officers were standing about talking, amongst them Kisaka. "Kisaka!" she called out, "What's the situation?"

"Lady Cagalli," Kisaka nodded in acknowledgment and turned towards her. While he explained what was going on, Cagalli's father had also received news of what was happening.

"Our final warning?" Uzumi asked at the Prime Minister's Residence, "What do they want?"

"Your nation is inconsiderate of the state of the rest of the world, and therefore, you are neglecting your responsibilities as a nation of Earth," Representative Omura read from a sheet of paper, "You are interested only in the well-being of your own country. And so, to the ORB Government, which has repeatedly rejected our requests for assistance, the Earth Alliance hereby declares these conditions from the represented nations. First, all government powers under the Prime Minister are to be disbanded at once. Second, any and all weapons, whether Mobile or artillery, are to be dismantled and set aside. If these conditions are not met within a span of 48 hours, the Earth Alliance will regard the ORB Union as a supporter of ZAFT and will take action through a full scale military assault."

"What a complete and utter farce!" Uzumi fumed as Omura put the paper down, "Are they so desperate after losing Panama that they have lost all sense of reason with it? The Earth Forces' 4th Naval Fleet is already advancing south of the Pacific on our territory!"

"I'm sure that all they want is the Mass Driver and Morgenroete," Omura replied.

"But even if this doesn't fit the principles…and even if we petition to the people there are no other nations left to oppose the Atlantic Federation!" Uzumi frowned.

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Far off from ORB, the 4th Naval Fleet was indeed making its approach to the ORB mainland. Consisting of several Arkansas and Des Moines-class cruisers and a single Tarawa-class carrier, it was very large attack force. The Tarawa-class, the Powell, carried both Muruta Azrael and the commander of the fleet, as well as the Earth Forces' three new Mobile Suits and their pilots, three genetically altered Biological CPUs. Still considered Naturals, Biological CPUs, also known as "Extendeds" were biotechnically and mentally enhanced to both eliminate their sense of fear and increase their aggression in combat.

The first and leader of the group was Orga Sabnak, bearing short green hair and eyes. His blue uniform, which was always open, had its sleeves removed as he was wearing a dark brown shirt beneath it. Despite being a very aggressive pilot, he enjoyed spending his free time reading paper-back novels, as he was doing now while lounging around on the deck.

The second was Clotho Buer, the young, hot-headed blue eyed pilot. His red hair flipped to the side, Clotho was not only the most aggressive and reckless, but also the most rebellious of the three, being the youngest. The bottom of his uniform jacket and his sleeves were both cut off, revealing a bit of his red t-shirt. When not fighting, he always sat around in the room he shared with the other two, using his energy to blast away pixilated enemies on a WonderSwan, an antique portable game system that he used to hone his shooting skills.

The last one was the ever stoic Shani Andras. Quiet, antisocial, and possibly the most mentally unstable, Shani was the official loner of the group, whether on the ship or on the battlefield. Being the quiet one, he was always blocking out the rest of the world by blasting music into his ears where ever he went. His bright green hair covered his left eye, which was violet as opposed to his amber right eye and instead of uniform pants, he wore a pair of ripped jeans under his open uniform jacket and orange shirt.

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"The Eurasian Federation has already been exhausted of everything," Omura told him, "The Equatorial Union, the Kingdom of Scandinavia…all of those nations tried to remain neutral but in the end, they wound up joining the Alliance."

"So, does this mean that it's now finally our turn to make the decision?" Uzumi said, "ZAFT is also aware of the situation now…just earlier, a message came from Carpentaria requesting a meeting with them." Then, he angrily added, "The world is being split into two armed camps because of the Atlantic Federation! Does everybody have to be either an ally or an enemy? Why should ORB abandon its laws and its principles just to fight whichever enemy that we're told to fight?" As the others thought about this, he continued, "If we side with the Alliance, then the PLANTs will become our enemy. And if we side with ZAFT, then the Alliance will become our enemy. Even if we were able to avoid combat by yielding to the Alliance, what's there to stop us from ending up like Panama did? No matter what path we choose, we won't be able to escape the flames of war!"

"I understand your misgivings, but…" Omura said, "What about the evacuation order?"

"Representative Omura…"

"It is my wish that the children of this society will never have to face death so soon, but…" Omura sighed, "If we can not make a decision soon…I fear that it will come true…" Meanwhile, Athrun had reached the Marshall Islands, the place where he had fought with Kira and Ryo only weeks ago. Even though he had been traveling for days, he wasn't worried about the Justice running out of power, as it had a nuclear reactor, and he had stopped by the Marshall Islands to get some clues as to where the other two pilots might have gone. Walking across the sand, he stared at the debris scattered all around him when something caught his attention. Turning, he was surprised to see a young girl watching him from behind what looked like the severed hand of the Aegis before two boys popped up from either side of her. Curious, he looked to see another boy approaching when he suddenly heard a voice from out of his field of vision.

"What seems to be the matter?" the voice asked and Athrun looked up to see Reverend Malchio coming up the hill supported by another young girl.

"Reverend Malchio!" one of the boys cried out and all four of the children rushed over to the blind priest. Athrun watched as they hid behind him and then saw Malchio turn his face in his direction. Slowly, he walked forward and then straightened up before bowing.

"Good afternoon, Reverend Malchio," Athrun said, "My name is Athrun Zala."

"Ah…you must be Chairman Zala's son," Malchio nodded with a smile, "I'm sure you must be tired after traveling all the way out here from PLANT. Please, do stay for tea."

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"Huh? The Captain?"

"Hey!" Murdoch called out, "All crew members are to assemble in the hangar! Get moving, you lazy bums!" As people scrambled about to see what was going on, Ryo and Kira exited their cockpits and got onto their seats to see what was happening. Looking over to the side, they saw Murrue and Mu walking along the deck, along with Cagalli and Kisaka close behind them.

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"The Prime Minister will be making an important announcement in just a few moments," a reporter said on the screens located on several buildings in the cities, "We ask that all civilians halt their current activities and tune in for the broadcast."

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"An Earth Alliance fleet is on its way here," Murrue announced, "To ORB." A collective gasp went up amongst the crew, which had gathered on the floor of the hangar to hear her speak. Only Kira and Ryo seemed remotely unsurprised and even glanced at each other before turning their attention back to her. "The reason given is…that unless ORB disbands its government and sides with the Earth Forces and fights against PLANT, Murrue continued, "Then it will be considered a supporter of ZAFT. That is all that we know as to why."

"But that's ridiculous!" Tonomura argued.

"The ORB government is currently trying to stress their position of neutrality and is doing all that they can to come up with a diplomatic solution for this," Murrue said, "However, judging by the Earth Forces' current reactions, the chances of avoiding a battle seem to be rather slim. ORB has issued an order for all civilians to evacuate from the city and any military facilities as quickly as possible. They're readying their defenses and preparing their forces for the worst-case scenario."

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The ORB fleet began to leave the harbors, with both Aegis and Kuraokami-class cruisers setting out into to waters. On the mainland, ORB soldiers hurried about while the civilians crowded the roads as they hurried to the harbors, where the refugee ships were waiting to take them to a safer area.

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"And each one of us has to make a decision as well," Murrue told them, "Currently, the Archangel is a run-away ship and it has not been confirmed whether or not we are permitted to enter combat. There's no one to tell us what to do or order us to prepare for the battle. And technically at this point, you are no longer under my jurisdiction either." As surprised whispers went about the crew, she added, "Should a battle prove to be unavoidable, the attack will commence at 0900 hours the day after tomorrow. Each one of us will have to make a personal decision to either stay and fight for ORB, or not."

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ORB linear tanks rumbled down the streets as artillery vehicles were set up along the shore-side roads. At the Morgenroete Factory, last minute preparations were being made to the M-1 Astray units while Asagi, Juri, and Mayura suited up to prepare to go on stand-by."

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"Anyone who wishes to take this opportunity to leave the ship should do so immediately and evacuate according to the instructions of the ORB government," Murrue concluded and paused while another surprised murmur went throughout the crew. Looking over the people who had served with her from the beginning until now, she couldn't help but smile as she said, "Before we make our decision, I would like to personally say, for your loyalty and following an inadequate Captain like myself in these difficult times…thank you very much…" With that, she gave a short bow to the crew before turning and walking off with Mu, prompting the others to disperse and go on their way. Later, as Kira and Ryo were walking through the halls discussing the upcoming battle, they were stopped by someone calling them.

"Kira! Ryo!" they heard and both pilots turned to see Cagalli hurrying over to them, "Kira…Kira…umm…"

"Calm down," Kira smiled, "If people see you nervous, they'll start panicking too."

"Oh, right…that's right, but…" Cagalli stammered, looking at herself, "ORB…ORB's about to become a battlefield! I can't…I can't believe this is happening!" At that point, Cagalli's nerves built up so much that she put her face in her hand before reaching up with both hands and tugging at her hair.

"Yeah, I know…" Kira nodded, "But…I think that it's the right thing to do." As Cagalli looked at him with a confused look, "This decision will probably be the biggest one that ORB has ever had to make."

"Kira…"

"So you don't have to worry so much, Cagalli," Kira said, "Even if it might not make much of a difference, we'll do everything that we can to protect ORB."

"He's right," Ryo nodded, "Even if ORB's chosen the most difficult path of all, I think it's the best choice too. So we're gonna fight for this land too…the land that your father and so many others are fighting to preserve." Seeing the look on Cagalli's face, he smiled and ruffled her already messy hair as he added, "So relax, will ya'? Kira and I have it all covered…"

"You…" Cagalli stammered, "You guys…!" Without warning, she lunged forward and pulled Kira into a hug as she started to cry.

"Cagalli…?" Kira blinked, although he did return the hug, "Um…uh…"

"Ah, let it go, Kira," Ryo shrugged, "All the stress has probably gotten to her." As Kira smiled and nodded, Kuzzey was preparing for a big step of his own.

"I see," Sai said as he stood with his friend, who was now in his civilian clothes, "You really are leaving, huh, Kuzzey?"

"You're not going, Sai?" Kuzzey asked, clutching his suit case in his hand outside the door of their room.

"No, I'm staying here," Sai told him, "This time it's ORB that's being attacked…now I feel that I've got a reason to fight too. I've already called my parents and told them about it."

"But…" Kuzzey sighed and then said, "Hey, are Milly and Tiffa leaving the ship? She's a girl and all, so…"

"Kuzzey," Sai smiled, shaking his head, "You don't have to worry about other people any more. We've already made our decisions on our own, and you have too. Everyone's different."

"But…if I'm the only one who says that he wants to leave, then everyone will think that I'm afraid, that I'm just a coward!" Kuzzey said, "And maybe…and maybe that's true. But there's nothing that I can do on this ship…nothing to do with fighting! I leave that to the people who actually can fight!" It was around this moment that Kira, Ryo, and Cagalli came to the same hallway, but they stopped behind a corner to listen to the two talk.

"I know…fighting doesn't suit you," Sai nodded, "The war and all…you're a good person and I think you're making the right choice. Violence isn't the only way to win a fight…"

"Sai…" Kuzzey smiled, "Thanks…"

"Let's meet again when the war's over…when there's peace," Sai nodded as he shook hands with his friend, "Just stay alive until then, okay?"

"Sai, wait…" Kuzzey suddenly said, "Maybe I should…"

"Enough!" Sai chuckled, "If you keep that up, you'll end up regretting yourself again."

"Yeah, you're right," Kuzzey nodded, "Well, I'll see you later, I guess. Tell the others I said bye, okay?"

"Sure," Sai smiled, "I'll do that." Meanwhile, in another part of the ship, Miriallia had gone down to the cells but instead of a tray of food, she was holding something else under her arm as she punched in the code to the door.

"Questioning?" Dearka asked as she opened it and walked in, "Or just transfer?"

"This ship is going into combat again…ORB is about to be attacked by the Earth Forces," Miriallia replied and then tossed the object onto his lap, "Apparently, you're free to go now…" Surprised, Dearka looked down to see his red pilot suit lying on his lap and was about to say something when he saw that Miriallia had already left.

"H-Hey! Wait a minute!" Dearka called out as he ran out of the cell and followed her as she exited the prison, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Weren't you listening at all? The Earth Forces are gonna attack ORB soon, so the Archangel's gonna fight the Earth Forces," Miriallia told him, although she didn't turn to look at the pilot, "It's pointless keeping you around, so you'd better get your butt out of here."

"Hold on, why are you guys fighting the Earth Forces now?" Dearka blinked, "Is there something I'm missing here?"

"It's because ORB won't side with them," Miriallia said, "That's all you need to know."

"Huh? What kind of a reason is that?" Dearka exclaimed, momentarily stopping "Are all you Naturals really that dumb?"

"So what if we are?" Miriallia scoffed, turning to face him, "The minute they start attacking, this place is going to turn into a war zone. Go figure the rest out on your own, okay?"

"Well, I can't do much about it if you put it like that," Dearka sighed but then a thought occurred to him, "Say, what happened to the Buster?"

"It was ours to begin with," Miriallia replied, "Morgenroete took it back."

"I knew it…" Dearka groaned, sweat-dropping as he did so.

"Look…" Miriallia said, this time in a gentler tone, "I'm sorry you had to go through this…"

"Wait…" Dearka frowned and grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving, "Are you fighting too?"

"I'd better be, I'm in charge of the Archangel's CIC!" Miriallia replied, jerking her arm away but added softer, "Besides…ORB is my homeland…I have to help protect it too…"

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All too soon, the big day had finally arrived, and everyone was in a rush to get ready for the upcoming battle. The ORB fleet had assembled around the borderline where the Earth Alliance fleet was expected to show up and even the politicians were being kept busy with the evacuations. By now, Uzumi had sent a letter of rejection to the incoming fleet, which was now being read aloud by Azrael. Instead of being angry, however, the leader of Blue Cosmos seemed disturbingly pleased with the answer.

"Your demands are unreasonable and unjust, therefore, we can not oblige to them. The ORB government has no intention of abandoning its position of neutrality," Azrael read and then laughed a bit before turning to the other officers on board, "Impressive, Uzumi Nara Athha, that's exactly what I expected from the famous 'Lion of ORB'." Gesturing to the paper in his hands, he added, "The truth of it is, I was kind of worried that they'd actually _agree_ to our demands. Now we've got an opportunity to perform our test." Turning back around, he smirked as he said, "I only hope that ORB will oblige to us by holding out to the bitter end…otherwise, it won't be much of a test for our new models…" Meanwhile, on the Archangel, Murrue stood alone on the bridge, contemplating again. As she heaved her umpteenth sigh of the day, she heard footsteps approaching her and she looked up to see the grinning face of Mu la Flaga.

"You know," Mu smiled, "The Captain of a ship really shouldn't look so down at such a crucial moment. You might hurt everyone else's morale."

"Well, I guess I'll have to cheer up then, right?" Murrue laughed.

"Yeah," Mu nodded, "Well, all told, only about eleven people left the ship in total. That's pretty amazing…JOSH-A must've really pissed them off or scared them…" Murrue nodded as well before looking out the window again as her face turned serious.

"Commander…" she began, "There's something that I want to know about Alaska…why'd you come back?"

"Huh?" Mu blinked before it occurred to him, "Oh yeah…your question just made me remember something I forgot to do before my transfer…" Then, without another word, he put his hands on Murrue's waist and drew her closer. Surprised, she instinctively threw her hands up to support herself on the closest stationary object; which of course, happened to be Mu himself. Before she knew it, she had been drawn into a deep kiss by the same man she was leaning on, completely catching her off guard. Her first thought was to resist but eventually, she found herself kissing him back, sliding her hand up his broad shoulders.

"What am I doing? I shouldn't be this close to a fellow crewmember…much less kiss him!" Murrue thought, "But…even if it's wrong…it feels so right too…" After a while, though, Mu pulled back and Murrue felt herself blush and looked away so that Mu couldn't see her embarrassed expression. "You…you ought to know that…" Murrue stammered, still a bit shaky from the kiss, "I…I really can't stand Mobile Armor pilots…"

"Well then…" Mu smiled, turning her head so that she was facing him again, "I guess it's a good thing I'm a Mobile _Suit_ pilot now, huh?" Murrue blushed again but nodded and this time, when Mu moved in for another kiss, she moved forward to make it more complete. Unfortunately for them, the door to the bridge suddenly opened and Neumann walked inside, followed by Tonomura and Chandra, just as Mu had slipped his tongue into Murrue's mouth.

"Excuse us…" Neumann said as they entered but then they noticed their two fellow officers near the window starting to make out. In an instant, their jaws fell open and they couldn't help but blush in embarrassment for walking in on what was obviously a private moment. The sound caught the attention of the two and they broke apart to look up. Murrue's face turned the color of a ripe tomato so fast that it looked like the color had been splashed onto her face while Mu gulped in embarrassment.

"Oh shit…" he muttered before an even more horrifying sound was heard.

_Beep. Click._

"Busted!" a voice laughed behind the other three officers and everyone looked to see a grinning Ryo behind them, looking at the screen of a digital camera.

"Oh no…" Murrue muttered as Ryo studied the picture that he had taken.

"Heh, priceless," Ryo grinned and put the camera back in his pocket, "I'm gonna have so much fun with that photo…"

"Oh no you don't!" Mu shouted and leaped at him, "Give me that camera, you…!" Unfortunately for Mu, Ryo was faster and he had already darted into the lift and shut the door to go down. "Damn!" Mu swore, "As soon as this war's over, I'm gonna _kill_ that kid!" Taking a few moments to calm down, he suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at him and he frowned at the other three officers, "What are you guys staring at? Take your shift!" As the others quietly nodded and hurried to their stations, Mu looked at Murrue, who was still blushing, and gave her an apologetic grin and a shrug. As this was happening, Athrun was still at the Reverend Malchio's cottage watching a news broadcast about tomorrow's battle between ORB and the Earth Forces while the children stayed in the back of the room, still wary of the bluenette.

"It looks like it can't be avoided now," Malchio sighed in his chair, "The Earth Forces and ORB are going to fight…These days, people can become enemies very easily."

"But…" Athrun said, "Why ORB and the Earth Forces?" At that moment, he heard movement below him and he looked to see two bold young boys who had come up to him with spiteful looks on their faces.

"I hate ZAFT!" one of the boys shouted, "And when I get bigger, I'm gonna come and get all of you!" With that, he delivered a kick to Athrun's shin, which barely hurt but still surprised him, before running off with his companion.

"Hey! Behave yourselves!" Malchio scolded before saying to Athrun, "Please excuse him; he's always been rather bitter towards ZAFT ever since his parents died in the occupation of Carpentaria…wars can spread quickly, but they're even more difficult to end." Back at ORB, last minute preparations were being made by everyone as the hour of fate drew near. Kira, Ryo, and Mu were making adjustments to their Operating Systems while Kisaka gave the pilots of the M-1 Astray units one last briefing. At the Ministry of National Defense, Cagalli and Uzumi waited anxiously for nine o'clock to come. At last, inside the Powell, Azrael looked up from his watch and stared ahead at ORB.

"It's time," Azrael grinned and at his command, every ship in the Alliance fleet launched a salvo of cruise missiles into the air towards the mainland.

"Incoming cruise missiles!" an ORB officer announced at the Ministry of National Defense. Every head in the room turned to Cagalli, waiting for her command.

"Attention ORB forces!" Cagalli declared, clenching her hands into fists, "Engage the enemy!" As soon as the words left her mouth, the ORB fleet opened fire on the incoming salvos, using their cannons and Igelstellung guns to shoot them down while the linear vehicles shot at them from the shore, even as the Earth Forces' Spearheads launched. Inside the Morgenroete Factory, the eyes of each Astray unit flashed bright green as the locks on their shoulders were released.

"The ORB forces have entered combat!" Sai announced, now sitting in Pal's old seat.

"This is the Archangel, moving out!" Murrue declared as the ship's engines burst to life, slowly moving it from the harbor. Outside, the ORB forces were being kept busy shooting down the incoming missiles from the air; from the linear vehicles to the Astray units.

"Asagi! Look out!" Mayura warned.

"I see them!" Asagi nodded and turned to shoot down several missiles.

"Mayura! To your left!" Juri called out and the said pilot turned to shoot at the missiles heading that way. By now, the Archangel had entered the battle-zone and had joined the ORB fleet in shooting down missiles.

"Aim Gottfrieds!" Murrue ordered, "Fire!" The Archangel's main guns deployed and began firing at the missile clusters, destroying several with each shot. Meanwhile, from the shore, Dearka stood by on a cliff watching the ensuing battle, now in his civilian clothes. He had been on the way to the refugee ships but had heard the sounds of the battle and couldn't help but go to watch. From his view point, he could see the Alliance and ORB fleets close in on each other before beginning a naval battle, launching missiles and firing their cannons at one another He then watched as several missiles that had gotten through the defense fire crash into the empty harbors, destroying several warehouses in the process. Deciding that staying in the same spot would be a bad idea, Dearka hurried off to get to a safer area to watch. Down below, the ORB linear tanks and Astray units continuously shot at the incoming ships, while the Strike Daggers on the same ships fired back.

"Juri, look!" Mayura exclaimed, "It's the Earth Forces' Mobile Suits!"

"Enemy Mobile Suits have landed on the Isanagi shorelines!"

"Damn…" Cagalli swore through her teeth, "Deploy the 8th Mobile Division!"

"We've detected large aircraft entering Onogoro Island airspace!" an officer warned and Cagalli turned to see three blips moving towards the island on the map behind her. Outside, Alliance carriers flew overhead before opening their rear bays and dropping Strike Daggers via parachute. A few landed on some stationary turrets while others dropped onto the ground normally.

"The Earth Forces has deployed a Mobile Suit unit!" Sai announced on the Archangel.

"Freedom, Double X, and Strike!" Murrue said, "Launch at once!"

"Kira Yamato! Freedom!" Kira called out as he pushed on the control sticks, "Let's do this!"

"Are you sure you wanna leave it behind?" Murdoch asked Ryo as the Double X moved onto the catapult after the Freedom had launched, "You might need it against those Mobile Suits." Since he felt that it would be more of a hindrance than a help in this kind of battle, Ryo had decided to launch the Double X without the G-Falcon, choosing to leave it in the hangar instead.

"Don't sweat it, I'll call if I need you to launch it. It's already on autopilot," Ryo replied before turning back to the opening of the catapult, "Ryo Mouri! Double X! Moving out!"

"Strike, prepare to launch!" Miriallia said as soon as the Double X was clear, "Commander, you'll be going out with the Aile pack!"

"Much obliged, little lady!" Mu nodded as the Striker Pack was attached, "Mu la Flaga! Launching in Strike!" The catapult activated, hurtling the Strike forward and out of the catapult as the wings on the Aile Striker spread, its Phase Shift Armor activating. Pressing down on the accelerator, Mu gunned the thrusters to catch up to the Freedom and Double X, which already had their Phase Shift activated.

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Inside the Powell, the three Biological CPUs Orga, Shani, and Clotho, were standing in front of their machines, dressed in their unique pilot suits; Orga's being light blue, Shani's white, and Clotho's yellow. Each one was handed a small, pen-sized capsule and they snapped off the tops to reveal a strange liquid inside before they lifted them to their lips and gulped it down. It smelled and tasted horrible, but it was essential if they wanted to fight at top strength. Having discarded the capsules, the turned and walked into their cockpits, putting their helmets on as they closed the hatches. As they were making adjustments to their Operating Systems, however, they received a last minute call from none other than Azrael himself.

"Now guys…" Azrael said, his face deceptively cheerful.

"Yeah?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Don't go blowing up the Mass Driver or the Morgenroete facilities…just yet, that is," Azrael smiled, "You know that, right?"

"Heh…" Shani smirked, "So I can go and do whatever I want with anything else, right?"

"Yeah," Clotho said eagerly, "Can we?"

"Shut the hell up, guys," Orga frowned, "We're moving out." The Powell's sides began to open, two hatches on the left and one on the right. As soon as they were fully open, Shani's Mobile Suit flew out of the right hatch while Clotho's took off and transformed into a bird-like Mobile Armor mode. Orga's, being too heavy to fly the whole way, leaped up and landed on Clotho's machine before the trio sped towards the mainland.

The Mobile Suits that these pilots were flying were not Strike Daggers but the newest of the GAT-X series. Unlike the originals, these machines had special Trans-Phase Shift Armor, which didn't change color upon activation but rather activated only on the point of impact of a projectile. Orga's machine, the GAT-X131 Calamity, was an almost aquamarine color with orange highlights. Based off of the Buster Gundam, the Calamity was exclusively an artillery unit, bearing more guns than most warships. Its hand-carried 337mm plasma sabot bazooka and 115mm "Kaefer Zwei" dual ram cannons mounted on its shield were dangerous enough, but it also had two 125mm "Schlag" high energy beam cannons on its shoulders and a chest-mounted 580mm "Scylla" energy cannon to add to its long-range armaments.

Clotho piloted the black and grey GAT-X370 Raider, a transforming Mobile Suit. It featured a frame similar to that of the Aegis and could turn into a bird-like Mobile Armor mode to transport the heavy Calamity over far distances. In this mode, it was only able to use the heavy machine guns in its nose and shoulders, as well as the "Ahura Mazda" short range beam cannons in its claws. In Mobile Suit mode, however, it had a dual 52mm hyper velocity cannon installed into its shield, a 100mm "Zorn" energy cannon mounted in its "mouth", and a heavy "Mjolnir" spherical breaker, which was essentially a large heavy sphere coated with spikes that could be launched on a long cable. The Mjolnir could also be spun around on the cable to be used as a crude shield against beam weapons, since the cable itself was beam resistant.

The last unit, the GAT-X252 Forbidden, was piloted by Shani. Unlike the other two, the green and grey Forbidden didn't have tremendous amounts of fire power or a transforming ability; having only the standard Igelstellung guns, a pair of 115mm "Armfeuer" machine guns mounted on its forearms, and a large "Nidhoggr" heavy scythe that could slice through the hull of a warship in one swing. Its main features, however, were on its backpack, which could fold up and over its head when needed. Mounted on it were two movable shields, a pair of 88mm "Eckzahn" railguns and a powerful "Hresvelgr" plasma induction cannon. The railguns could fire either electromagnetic pulses or, as a secondary feature, generate restricted magnetic fields that allowed Shani to literally manipulate the beam of the Hresvelgr cannon to an extent, making it harder to dodge. The two shields, however, were its greatest feature, as they generated powerful "Geschmeidig Panzer" fields. Utilizing similar particles used in the Blitz Gundam's Mirage Colloid, the Geschmeidig Panzer field could literally "bend" energy based weapons away from the Mobile Suit and even deflect water for use as an aquatic propulsion system. With such a variety of abilities and weapons, the trio was a deadly one indeed. And now, they were heading straight for ORB.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, the battle on the ground was growing in intensity as the Astray units were put to the test as they clashed with the Strike Daggers. Juri's machine leaped back to avoid a shot from a beam rifle while firing its Igelstellung guns before it landed, backed into a wall as it drew its beam saber. Before the bespectacled pilot could react, however, a Strike Dagger charged and rammed into her with its shield, causing her to scream as the Astray toppled over backwards. However, her scream had caught the attention of Mayura and she was saved just as the Strike Dagger aimed its beam rifle at her by a well timed shot from the red-head.

"You bastard!" Mayura snarled as she chased the Strike Dagger off with a flurry of beam rifle shots, "Don't you dare!"

"Um, guys?" Asagi grunted as her machine blocked a Strike Dagger's saber with its shield before backing off, its own saber drawn, "I could use a hand here!" Just then, a pair of shadows passed overhead and the two looked up to see the Freedom and Double X flying over-head.

"Look out below!" Ryo shouted as both he and Kira activated their multi-targeting computers. The Freedom deployed its Balaena plasma cannons and Xiphias railguns while the Double X armed the Twin Satellite Cannons, now in plasma cannon mode. In a matter of seconds, the two Mobile Suits rained fire upon the Strike Daggers, blowing off their arms and heads. Those that weren't hit by the initial bombardment of firepower paused in shock as the Freedom and Double X put their weapons away, let go of their shields, and then drew both of their beam sabers or hyper beam swords. "So, the Earth Forces has been cranking out some Mobile Suits too, huh?" Ryo thought, "Well…we'll show them that they can't beat the originals!" With almost lightning speed, they sliced off the arms of several more Strike Daggers upon landing while their shields crashed into the ground tip first before they took off to another part of the battle field, grabbing their shields in the process.

"Holy…" Asagi gaped, "Was that…Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri?" Nearby, a Strike Dagger exploded from a shot through the cockpit as the Strike landed where it had been standing.

"Wow! This is pretty darn cool!" Mu exclaimed, "Though…I'm still kind of new at this." Looking over at the Astray units, he called out, "Hey! You'll be a sitting duck if you stand around like that, ladies!"

"Valiants aim! Fire!" Murrue ordered and both of the Archangel's linear guns shot a pair of light rounds at a cluster of Spearheads, destroying a few before an unexpected guest showed up. The transformed Raider came flying in with the Calamity crouching on its back. As soon as the two Extendeds saw the Archangel, they were filled with excitement.

"That white one!" Clotho exclaimed eagerly, "It's mine!"

"Enemy Mobile Suit…no, Mobile Armor approaching!" Tonomura warned. As Murrue looked up in surprised, Orga had already decided to take matters into his own hands and let out a fierce cry as he fired both Schlag cannons and the Scylla cannon as well at the Archangel.

"Evade!" Murrue hastily shouted as Kira and Ryo turned to see what had fired the shots and the Archangel lurched aside, causing the beams to go past it and hit an unsuspecting Kuraokami-class ship in the bow, causing it to explode and then sink.

"Figures!" Clotho scoffed as Orga swore, "You missed it, idiot!" With that, he flew in lower towards the mainland and then turned over to drop, or rather dump, the Calamity off in to a patch of trees the ground. Down below, Dearka was still running about, trying to find a better spot to watch the battle, when he saw the Calamity hit the ground and shoot into the distance with the Schlag cannons.

"Oh, come on," Dearka sighed, rolling his eyes, "Can't they come up with something more original?" Meanwhile, Mu had spotted the Calamity and gone over to check it out in the Strike.

"That thing…" Mu frowned, "Is it the Earth Forces' new model?" As Mu begun battle against Orga, Clotho had transformed the Raider into Mobile Suit mode and was headed straight for the Archangel.

"Annihilate!" Clotho shouted, flying up right in front of the Archangel's bride and preparing to launch its Mjolnir hammer. At that moment, however, Kira appeared in the Freedom and kicked the Raider away into the water. As the Raider went under, however, the Forbidden suddenly emerged and fired its Eckzahn railguns at the Freedom to distract it. Inside, Shani smirked as the Freedom moved to dodge before taking the opportunity to land on the hull of an ORB ship and slice through its bridge with its Nidhoggr scythe. Freedom immediately gave chase as the Forbidden flew away from the exploding ship and as they flew off, the Raider flew out of the water.

"Bastard!" Clotho swore, now infuriated, "You're terminated!" Raider drew its arm back and launched its Mjolnir hammer at the Freedom but before it could hit, Double X appeared out of the blue and blocked it with its shield.

"Watch your back, Kira!" Ryo shouted as he charged the Raider, "I won't be able to save you every time!" Down below, explosions went up everywhere as Astray units and buildings alike were decimated by the sheer firepower of the Calamity, which easily destroyed them with its Schlag cannons. It was about this time that Dearka came to the scene, still watching the battle, just in time to see several ORB soldiers run off in retreat while Orga laughed maniacally at them.

"Why you!" Mu shouted as he came flying at the Calamity in the Strike, "That's as far as you go!" As the two Mobile Suits clashed, Dearka watched as more cruise missiles hit the shoreline from afar and then turned to see the Archangel battling out at sea. As he watched, he remembered what Miriallia had said to him earlier and it made him think for a little.

-----------------------------

"_I'd better be, I'm in charge of the Archangel's CIC!" Miriallia replied, jerking her arm away but added softer, "Besides…ORB is my homeland…I have to help protect it too…"_

-----------------------------

"A girl like her fighting when a Mobile Suit pilot like me is running away?" Dearka frowned, "Fat chance! But…what can I do?" Then, he remembered that Miriallia had mentioned that Morgenroete was holding onto the Buster and with his mind made up, he turned and hurried off towards the Morgenroete Factory. Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were still trying to figure out a way to defeat Shani and Clotho without killing them. Which was rather hard to do since the latter two were Biological CPUs who didn't have the same in mind for them. While the Freedom shot at the Raider with its Picus guns, the said Mobile Suit drew back its left arm to launch its Mjolnir hammer but before Clotho could do so, he was suddenly staring at the back of the Forbidden as Shani moved in front of him.

"Out of the way, Shani!" Clotho shouted, infuriated at the interruption, "Quit butting in!"

"You're the one who's in the way!" Shani replied irritably before shooting at the Freedom and Double X with its Eckzahn railguns. The two dodged before the former deployed its Balaena plasma cannons and fired them at the Forbidden. In a surprise move, the Forbidden didn't move from its position but deployed its backpack over its head, moving the two shields in front of its. The panels on the shields glowed and when the beams hit, they seemed to strike an invisible surface before bending around the Forbidden.

"What the…" Kira gaped as Shani laughed, "He…he deflected the beam?"

"Kira, watch out!" Ryo frowned, "I think he's got Geschmeidig Panzer generators! Beam weapons won't be too useful against him!" At that moment, however, he was forced to move aside as the Raider emerged from behind the Forbidden and launched its Mjolnir hammer at the Double X.

"Helldarts, fire!" Murrue ordered and the missile tubes just below the back of the Archangel's bridge released their payload, shooting more missiles out of the air. At that moment, a pair of Spearheads came flying at them and fired their missiles. Three of them were shot down by the Igelstellung guns but one managed to hit the Archangel's side, damaging it. Then, as the Spearheads flew by to make another run, something rather unexpected happened. A bright green beam of energy came flying from near the mainland and hit the Spearheads, destroying them before they could veer around. As the crew of the Archangel looked on in surprise, Sai glanced at his monitor and saw something that hadn't been there before.

"No way…" Sai blinked, "That's…the Buster!" Surprised, everyone looked and sure enough, standing in the shallow waters of the harbor was the fully repaired Buster Gundam, both guns deployed and its green and tan Phase Shift Armor activated. Inside, Dearka squinted before firing the Buster's missile pods, taking out most of an incoming squadron of Spearheads before finishing off the rest with its railgun and beam rifle.

"Archangel, pull back, now!" Dearka called out over the radio, "I'll cover you!"

"But why…" Miriallia blinked as the ship lurched back, "Is he…?" Meanwhile, Mu was stuck in a rather tight spot as he desperately flew around, trying to avoid getting hit by the guns of the Calamity. Orga, on the other hand, was having so much fun blasting away at the Strike that he didn't pay any heed to the three Astray units that had appeared over the hill.

"Commander!" Asagi called out from hers before the three of them shot at the Calamity with their beam rifles.

"Get back, you three!" Mu replied, taking advantage of the distraction to counter-attack, "This one's a lot different from the rest of them!"

"These guys…" Kira grunted as the Freedom flew backwards in a spiral, firing at the Forbidden and Raider. However, as much as the two quarreled, Shani and Clotho knew how to work together and it was showing. First, the Forbidden used its Geschmeidig Panzer generators to deflect the Freedom and Double X's shots before the Raider came up from behind and shot at them with its dual hyper velocity cannons. Of course, that didn't mean that they stopped fighting amongst themselves verbally.

"Time to finish this…"

"Oh, shut up!" Shani snapped, interrupting Clotho in the middle of his sentence. Down on the ground, Orga had finally lost interest in the Strike and looked for something else to shoot at. Looking up, he saw the Raider and Forbidden fighting against two other Mobile Suits in the air and he immediately became interested before turning the Calamity around and shooting into the air with its Schlag cannons.

"Watch out! From the ground!" Ryo shouted and the two managed to dodge just in time. In response, Kira deployed all of the Freedom's weapons but at that moment, Ryo felt something tugging at the back of his head. "What…" he thought and then his eyes widened, "Oh crap!" Without warning, slammed his foot down on the accelerator and the Double X flew towards the mainland, picking up speed with each second. While dodging shots from the Calamity, Ryo zoomed the Double X's camera in on the ground, where he could see a family of four running through the woods. One of them, a boy, stopped and ran down a hill after something while the other three waited for him. At that moment, the Freedom's guns went off and the Double X stretched its arm out, jamming its shield into the ground next to the family as one of the shots caused an explosion nearby. When the explosion subsided, Ryo lifted the Double X's shield and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the family was safe, rather shaken, but still safe. Once he had ushered them on their way, he turned back to the sky and took off towards the battle to aid Kira against the Extendeds. Meanwhile, just outside the battlefield, Athrun was approaching the battle zone in the Justice, using on the Fatum-00 pack as a sub-lifter. While he was gazing at the scene with distaste, the Justice's radar detected something and it zoomed in to reveal four Mobile Suits, two which looked familiar.

"The Freedom…and Double X!" Athrun blinked, "Then that means…Kira and Ryo are here!" He watched as the two Mobile Suits that he was supposed to be tracking down fly around, dodging gun fire until the Freedom took a nasty blow from the Raider's Mjolnir hammer. "But why…are they fighting against the Earth Forces?" Athrun wondered.

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"_Kira and Ryo are no longer in the Earth Forces…but they are not with ZAFT either. They both said that they would be fighting only for what they believe in from now on. But what is it that you believe in, Athrun? What is it that you're fighting for now? Is if for that medal you received? For your father's orders?"_

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As Lacus' words played in his head, so did the memory of Nicol's ultimate sacrifice and then his time with Cagalli. He then remembered his childhood days with Kira and this ultimately brought him back to his most recent memory.

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"_I hate ZAFT!" one of the boys shouted, "And when I get bigger, I'm gonna come and get all of you!" With that, he delivered a kick to Athrun's shin, which barely hurt but still surprised him, before running off with his companion._

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As Athrun finally made up his mind, the Forbidden slammed its Nidhoggr scythe into the Freedom's shield, using its momentum to toss it over to where the Raider suddenly appeared in front of it. "Game over!" Clotho sneered and a beam of energy shot from the Raider's mouth as he fired the Zorn energy cannon.

"Kira!" Ryo exclaimed, being too far away to help, "Move!" Unfortunately, the Raider had fired too close for Kira to avoid the shot in time but just when it seemed that the Freedom and its pilot were doomed, something moved in between them and the blast, blocking the latter with its shield before returning fire with its beam rifle. The three Biological CPUs blinked in confusion as the red Mobile Suit hovered in front of the Freedom, its beam rifle pointed at the Raider and Forbidden. Kira and Ryo, on the other hand, stared in amazement at the Justice, as Athrun stared grimly at his new targets.

Phase 38: End

Author's note: First real cameo appearence in this chapter and also one of the major reasons why there won't be a Destiny fic. It should be pretty easy to figure it out.

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- The original X was destroyed during the Strike and X vs. Aegis battle on the Marshall Islands. As for the Twin Satellite Cannon, I've got something big planned for them later on.

Ominae- And now he's gone and ruined a Mu/Murrue moment too (well, it was actually the other officers, but…).

Mew Tatsu- I don't know if you've realized this yet, but this is a novelization of the show. Which means that whatever is said and done in the show will probably show up here, along with whatever stuff that I decide to throw in.


	40. Athrun

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to my girlfriend Caroline to celebrate our first year together, since today is our anniversary. I would've picked a chapter with more romantic moments, but…my timing was kind of off. So, happy 1 year, Caroline. I love you.

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Phase 39: Athrun

_June 15, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory_

The battle for the control of ORB raged on, with growing intensity on both sides. Cruise missiles launched from the Alliance fleet continued to fly everywhere, aimed at either the mainland or at the ORB fleet. "Fire Helldarts!" Murrue ordered aboard the Archangel and the ship fired off its anti-air missiles. Even as they impacted with several cruise missiles, even more flew past the ship and hit the mainland, damaging the harbor-side warehouses even more. Meanwhile, Asagi had her hands full dealing with a particularly violent Strike Dagger pilot, who seemed determined to have her life. Jumping back to avoid a swing from its saber, she raised her Astray's shield to block another strike. At that moment, however, a beam of green energy lanced through the Strike Dagger's saber arm and blew it right off.

"Asagi!" Mayura, the one who had saved her, shouted as she fired off another shot from her unit's beam rifle, destroying the now one-armed Strike Dagger with a shot through the cockpit. Nearby, another Strike Dagger was charging Juri's machine with its saber drawn. The said pilot gasped before pushing the control stick forward, causing her Astray unit to plunge its own saber through the attacking Strike Dagger's cockpit and it exploded as she jumped back.

"The second line of defense has been breached! We've lost communication with the Sixth Infantry Unit!" As continuous news was being broadcasted to Cagalli in the Ministry of National Defense, Mu turned and shot a Strike Dagger through its cockpit on the fly in the Strike before turning to shoot down another. Up above, another volley of cruise missiles appeared over the tree-line, right in the sights of the Buster and Dearka.

"Oh no you don't!" Dearka shouted and fired the Buster's anti-armor shotgun and missile launchers into the air, successfully shooting down the incoming missiles. Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were still staring at the newly arrived Justice Gundam, in which Athrun was staring down the Raider and Forbidden, as it hovered in front of the Freedom.

"Damn it!" Clotho snarled, "Who the hell are you?"

"Well, look at that…" Shani mused as the Raider transformed and charged the Justice, "Another one of those weird Mobile Suits…" With that, he stepped on the accelerator and the Forbidden took off after the Raider. Kira and Ryo were snapped out of their staring when their radar reacted to the approaching Mobile Suits and they quickly moved out of the way to dodge the Raider's machine guns.

"That Mobile Suit…looks oddly like the Aegis…" Ryo frowned, "Is it….?"

"This is ZAFT Special Forces agent…Athrun Zala!" Athrun suddenly announced from the Justice, "Do you read me, Freedom and Double X? Or should I say…Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri?"

"Athrun?" Kira blinked, surprised to hear his old friend speaking.

"Ah ha! I knew it!" Ryo smiled as the three Gundams flew aside to avoid the charging Raider, which transformed and aimed its hyper velocity cannons at the Justice. In response, the Justice pulled out one of its Lacerta beam saber handles, held it upside down, and then attached it to the hilt of the other saber before pulling that one out too, igniting both to form an ambidextrous beam saber before using its shield to block the Raider's shots. It was now Athrun's turn to attack and he did so by charging at the firing Raider, swinging its ambidextrous saber and forcing Clotho to block with the Raider's shield. The two machines struggled with each other in a fierce deadlock for a few moments before the Justice broke away to avoid the incoming Forbidden.

"What are you doing here?" Kira asked as the Freedom drew its own Lacerta saber and flew forward, slashing at the Forbidden, "Is ZAFT sticking its nose into this battle too?" The Raider, in its Mobile Armor mode, flew at the Justice again, which dodged and let it fly past it.

"I haven't received any official orders regarding this battle," Athrun replied as the Forbidden charged up its Hresvelgr cannon, "This intervention…" As the Freedom flew off to the side to avoid the arched beam, Athrun added, "Is my decision alone!"

"Well if you decided to come here on your own," Ryo remarked as the Double X dodged the Raider's Mjolnir hammer and counter-attacked with a hyper beam sword, forcing Clotho onto the defensive, "Then you picked a pretty good time to drop in! These guys are tough for Naturals!"

"Athrun…" Kira thought as the Raider flew off, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know who you think you are," Clotho sneered, "But since you're joining the party, you can go down with these guys too!" With that, he fired the Raider's hyper velocity cannons at the Justice, which dodged and charged to counter. Meanwhile, Kira was having trouble against the Forbidden, which was constantly used its Geschmeidig Panzer generators to deflect the Freedom's shots.

"Cut that out and stop wasting energy, Kira!" Ryo shouted, "I told you that beam weapons aren't gonna cut it with that guy!"

"Oh, right," Kira nodded as he remembered and started to think of a new plan. Down on the ground, Orga was stomping about in the Calamity, looking for something else to blow up, when he looked up again to see a new Mobile Suit fighting alongside the Freedom and Double X.

"Hey hey hey," Orga grinned, "Looks like there's another one!" With that, he turned and aimed the Calamity's Schlag cannons before firing them into the aerial fray. The beams went right at the Justice and nearly hit the nearby Raider as the said Mobile Suit dodged.

"You freakin' bastard, Orga!" Clotho shouted at his companion, "Watch where you're shooting those things!"

"Hey…" Mu blinked on the ground after finishing off another Strike Dagger, "What's going on up there?" Everyone had now noticed the battle going on in the sky and had briefly stopped fighting to watch, wondering just who would overpower who.

"Is it another Alliance unit?"

"No! It's aiding the Freedom and Double X!" As Cagalli turned to a screen to look, Orga took off in the Calamity, using what little flight capabilities that the Calamity had to boost himself towards the fray.

"Just who are you guys messing around with up there?" he asked mockingly, "I wanna play with them too, you know!" As he said that, he fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons again, forcing the Freedom, Justice, and Double X to dodge again.

"Butt out, Orga!" Clotho snapped as he and Shani charged the three Gundams, "This isn't a fight for someone like you!"

"Ah shut up, runt!" Orga sneered as the Calamity landed on top of an Aegis-class ship, crushing its bridge and giving the Calamity something to stand on as it fired its Schlag cannons into the air. As the Justice dodged, Shani intentionally moved into the firing range and then used its Geschmeidig Panzer generators to deflect the blasts to where the Justice was. As the Justice dodged, the Raider had to move aside as well as the deflected beams curved right in front of it.

"God dammit, Shani!" Clotho shouted, "Next time, warn me when you're about to do that!" Shani merely smirked at the younger pilot's curses and moved the Forbidden's shields in front of it as the Justice attacked it with the Fatum-00's Cervus guns. Immediately afterward, the Freedom appeared but instead of using its beam rifle, it deployed its Xiphias railguns and blasted away at the Forbidden, forcing it to keep its shields up.

"Damn…" Shani swore quietly before he noticed that the Freedom had stopped shooting. Deciding that it was safe, he moved the Forbidden's shields back into normal position, only to receive a savage kick to the torso from the Justice. The Raider moved in to attack, firing its shoulder-mounted machine guns at the Justice as it moved back from its last move. The crimson Mobile Suit dodged and the Freedom and Double X appeared, firing their plasma and beam cannons at Clotho. The more agile Raider had no problem dodging the blasts and launched its Mjolnir hammer but unfortunately, the other three units dodged the weapon with equal ease and moved in to attack as the Freedom drew its saber.

"Oh crap!" Clotho swore, realizing that he was in no position to defend quickly. Instead of attacking the Raider, however, the Freedom flew right past it, leaving Clotho very puzzled. He soon realize, however, that it had all been a ploy as the Double X and Justice Gundams smashed their knees into the Raider, sending it spinning in the opposite direction.

"Bastards!" Orga shouted and fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons again from the ground.

"Athrun!" Kira shouted as the Freedom and Justice veered to the side.

"Watch out, you guys!" Ryo warned as he felt a tug at the back of his head, "Above you!" Looking up, the two saw the Forbidden descending from above them, its Nidhoggr scythe raised in a striking position. The two dodged and Kira instinctively shot at it with the Freedom's beam rifle, only to be reminded of the futility of this as the Forbidden deflected the shots with its Geschmeidig Panzer generators yet again. Shani, however, was losing his patience and was beginning to get tired of the fight. At that moment, however, the Justice's Fatum-00 support lifter, now detached from the main Mobile Suit, came flying out of no where and Shani braced for the impact. However, the support lifter pulled up at the last second and when it had passed, Shani was startled to see the Freedom hovering literally in his face before getting hit by its Xiphias railguns. Down below, the Alliance fleet launched another salvo of cruise missiles, some of which hit the Archangel.

"Twenty to port!" Murrue ordered as the bridge shook a little, "Concentrate our fire on the left wing of the enemy fleet! Let's bring it down! Load Sledgehammer missiles and ready the Valiant cannons!" As she said this, Tiffa was busy watching the battle between aerial duel that was occurring not too far away.

"This…this doesn't feel right…" Tiffa thought as another missile hit the side of the ship, "Even as the Archangel's co-pilot…why do I feel so useless…?" As she watched the Double X dodge the Raider's Mjolnir hammer, she suddenly remembered asking Ryo about his machine. According to him, the Double X's support lifter that Ryo had left on the ship, the G-Falcon, could be controlled both via remote control or manually, meaning that it could be piloted. "Could I…really?" Tiffa muttered, "I might…I might die…" She thought for another few minutes before standing up and saying, "Captain, permission to leave the ship and enter the combat zone!"

"W-What are you talking about, Crewman Adil?" Murrue gaped as everyone else turned to look at her, shocked by her request, "We're in the middle of a battle, this is no time for you to leave your post! We don't even have any craft available save the Skygrasper!"

"No, there still is one," Tiffa said, "Ryo left it behind before he launched."

"Listen to me, Crewman Adil," Murrue said more calmly, "I don't know what you're thinking, but I can not allow you to go out there. It's one thing that you decided to remain here and fight, but to enter actual combat would be suicide!"

"Captain, please!" Tiffa pleaded, "We need to have every unit that we have out there if we're going to drive back the Earth Forces! I'm the only one here who can fly it!"

"She does have a point, Captain," Neumann shrugged, "Only Ms. Cagalli scored higher than her on the Skygrasper simulator. She really isn't too bad of a pilot."

"Captain, I understand that what I'm doing is dangerous," Tiffa said, "But…I'm just not comfortable watching everyone fight while I'm sitting on the bridge of a ship." Murrue pondered this for a while before she sighed and looked up at Neumann. She didn't want to put the girl's life in danger but at the same time, she did present a legitimate argument.

"Are you alright with this, Ensign Neumann?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," Neumann nodded, "I've been on this ship long enough to know how to fly it myself."

"Very well then," Murrue said and turned to Tiffa, "Crewman Adil, you have my permission to enter combat. However, you are now responsible for any and all consequences of your actions while you are engaging the enemy. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tiffa nodded.

"Well, I suppose I can't keep you here forever," Murrue sighed, "I'll inform the deck crew of what you're doing so that they can prepare your launch."

"Thank you."

"You do realize, Tiffa," Murrue suddenly said, "That you might not come back from this?"

"I do," Tiffa nodded and smiled a bit, "But thank you for reminding me."

"If that's how you really feel, then I won't stop you," Murrue said, "Go down to the locker room and get a pilot suit, then report to the hangar to launch." Tiffa nodded and started to leave the bridge before Murrue added, "And Tiffa…" When she looked back, the older woman smiled and said, "Be careful out there." Tiffa smiled too and nodded before leaving. Later, inside the hangar, Tiffa was sitting at the controls of the G-Falcon, fully dressed in a standard-issue Earth Forces pilot suit.

"It's not much different from the Skygrasper…" Tiffa thought as she started up the Operating System and looked over the controls, "It shouldn't be too hard."

"G-Falcon, proceed to catapult launch!" Miriallia said as the G-Falcon taxied onto the runway, "Systems are all green! Course clear!" As the catapult opened, Miriallia contacted Tiffa and added, "Are you sure you're okay with this, Tiffa?"

"I'm a little nervous," Tiffa admitted, "But yes, I'm sure."

"Then good luck…and be careful," Miriallia smiled, "G-Falcon, please launch!"

"Tiffa Adil! G-Falcon!" Tiffa announced, "Launching!" Pushing the control stick forward, the G-Falcon's thrusters ignited and propelled the craft out of the ship and into the sky, the g-forces pushing Tiffa into her seat. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the Strike Daggers had pushed their way into the cities, where Mu and Dearka were doing what they could to hold them off.

"Alright, that's enough!" Mu frowned and took off in the Strike as he blocked a shot.

"Doesn't matter how many of them there are," Dearka said, "We've still got the advantage!" Nearby, Juri was struggling against a group of Strike Daggers on her own until Asagi showed up in her Astray unit to assist her.

"Juri!" Asagi called out, "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Juri smiled, "Let's give the Commander some back up!"

"Right!"

-----------------------------

"We still haven't beaten their defenses?" Azrael asked, leaning back in his seat, "That's odd…" The battle had started nearly an hour ago and so far, little progress had been made. Every one had known that ORB would be a tough opponent but even with their new Gundam suits, they hadn't been prepared for the appearance of the Archangel and its own Gundams.

"Looks like those prized units of yours aren't doing as well as you thought they would," the Captain mused, "Are you sure you don't want to pull out?"

"No, no, it's quite alright," Azrael replied, although his calm demeanor was a bit strained, "It's probably just a minor complication…nothing serious…"

-----------------------------

Up in the sky, the Freedom, Justice, and Double X were forced to fly aside as another blast from the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon missed them before the Raider came flying at them in its Mobile Suit mode. "Die!" Clotho shouted, firing the Raider's Zorn energy cannon, "All of you!" The blast went wide, however, and as the Freedom dodged, the Justice came from behind it and shot at the Raider with the Fortis beam cannons mounted on the Fatum-00 unit. Clotho was just barely able to pull out of the way when another blast of energy, this time from the Calamity's Schlag cannons, barely missed him again.

"You know, Orga, there's this really great new past-time called _aiming_!" Clotho shouted, "You really oughta try it out sometime instead of shooting everything that moves!"

"Heh, these guys sure are annoying," Orga grinned, completely ignoring Clotho as the Calamity took to the air, "Shani! Get ready!" Upon hearing this, Shani quickly moved in front of the Calamity and activated its Geschmeidig Panzer generators. At the same time, Orga fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons, which were deflected towards the other three.

"Are these guys seriously shooting at their own team-mates?" Athrun blinked, "What's the point of that?"

"It may seem dumb, but it's actually a pretty good move," Ryo said, "By using each other's special attributes, they can hit just about anything if they time it right." It was around then that he felt another tug on the back of his head and his radar started to act up as well. The same thing happened in the cockpits of the other machines and everyone turned to see a small red and black craft approaching. "Wait…that's…." Ryo frowned and then quickly opened up a link to the Archangel, "Hey! Who's flying around in the G-Falcon?"

"Don't worry about it, Ryo," Miriallia replied on his screen, "It's just Tiffa, she's going over to assist you guys."

"W-Wait just a damn minute!" Ryo exclaimed, "Did you just say that _Tiffa's_ the one flying that thing?"

"Yeah," Miriallia blinked, "The Captain gave her permission and all, so…"

"Ugh, forget it!" Ryo sighed, "Just…go back to doing whatever you do now…" With that, he killed the connection and flew towards the G-Falcon. Unfortunately, the three Biological CPUs had already seen it and Clotho was particularly intrigued by it, mostly because it had almost the same color-scheme as the Raider.

"Well, this is new!" Clotho grinned, "Screw those Mobile Suits, I'm taking down that fighter!" With that, he transformed the Raider into Mobile Armor and flew at the approaching G-Falcon and shouted, "Hey! You in the weird plane! How 'bout a little one-on-one, eh?" Tiffa, who hadn't been expecting to get attacked the moment she appeared, was surprised when the Raider suddenly shot at her with its machine guns and quickly veered to the side to avoid them. At that moment, she felt a tug at the base of her skull and pulled up to avoid a blast from the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon.

"That was too close," Tiffa gasped, "I need to be more careful."

"Back off, Shani!" Clotho shouted, "This one's mine!"

"Ah, quit hogging it all to yourself, Clotho!" Orga smirked as he shot at the G-Falcon from the ground, "We want a piece of that thing too!"

"Shut the hell up, Orga!" Clotho fumed, "Go and shoot at those Mobile Suits that you wanted to play with so bad!"

"She can't take them all at once!" Ryo frowned, "Kira! Athrun! Keep those two busy! I'll go after the black one!"

"Right!" Kira nodded and quickly flew after the Forbidden while Athrun charged the Calamity. Meanwhile, Tiffa was desperately flying around while trying to avoid getting hit by the Raider's guns.

"Come on, you big sissy!" Clotho laughed as he continuously fired at the G-Falcon, "Why don't you stop running away like a little girl and fight?"

"He's right," Tiffa thought, "I can't keep running forever…" With that, she quickly pulled the G-Falcon into a dive, luring the Raider after her. In an instant, she pulled up so that she was almost on a crash-course with the Raider and fired a pair of missiles at it. Instinctively, Clotho veered aside to avoid them but then much to his surprise, a series of beams narrowly missed him.

"Huh? Wasn't expecting that," Clotho blinked and then grinned again, "Heh, pretty nice weapons you've got there…now get a load of mine!" With that, he transformed the Raider into Mobile Suit mode and charged at the G-Falcon, firing its hyper velocity cannons as it went. Now faced with a more agile Mobile Suit, Tiffa was once again forced to take the defensive and flew off to avoid the shots. Unfortunately, Clotho wasn't very intent on letting her escape and wasted no time in damaging the G-Falcon, temporarily distracting Tiffa. When she opened her eyes again, she was startled to see the Raider right alongside the G-Falcon, its Mjolnir hammer raised to strike. "It's over!" Clotho shouted and prepared to smash the weapon into the G-Falcon's cockpit.

"Ryo…" Tiffa thought, squeezing her eyes shut as she waited for the blow, "I just…wanted to help out…" At that moment, however, a beam of hot pink energy passed between the Raider and G-Falcon, distracting Clotho and causing him to look up. Approaching from above was the Double X, repeatedly firing its beam rifle at the Raider and forcing the latter to back away from the G-Falcon.

"Don't even think about it!" Ryo snarled and drew a hyper beam sword before taking a swing at the Raider, "You touch one hair on her head and you're toast!"

"Ryo?" Tiffa blinked, looking at the screen, "You…"

"Tiffa, turn around and get back to the Archangel now!" Ryo suddenly said, "These guys are way tougher than the Ginns in the Skygrasper simulator! Go back before you get shot down!"

"Ryo…"

"Dammit, Tiffa, listen to me!" Ryo shouted, "I'm telling you to go back and help out the Archangel against the Earth Forces fleet! It'll be a lot easier to do that then fight against these guys!" Tiffa hesitated before nodding, knowing that Ryo was right. Already, she had seen that the new Mobile Suit pilots were too much for her to handle alone and she realized that she would be more likely to get in the way of things than help out. Turning the G-Falcon around, she stepped on the accelerator and flew back to the Archangel; leaving Ryo to deal with the Raider.

"Bastard!" Clotho growled, "I was just about to nail that guy!"

"Well guess what?" Ryo snapped, "That was a girl you almost killed!" Clotho was just about to make a retort when suddenly, a rather peculiar thing happened. His chest suddenly tightened extremely painfully and the pain was so intense that he let go of the controls. The same thing happened to both Shani and Orga and by now, Kira, Athrun, and Ryo were all confused as to why the Earth Forces' Gundams were suddenly hovering around in the air motionless.

"Crap! Is it time already?" Orga grunted through clenched teeth as Shani started to twitch uncontrollably in his cockpit, "Clotho!"

"D-Dammit!" Clotho swore painfully as he hurriedly turned and transformed the Raider into Mobile Suit mode before flying over to the falling Calamity, catching it in the Raider's claws while the Forbidden flew after them, all three heading back to the Powell. As they slowly faded from view, the three pilots stared after them and finally, Ryo broke the silence with a question.

"…What the hell was that all about?" Ryo blinked, "Did they just decide to run away without saying anything?"

-----------------------------

"Raider, Forbidden, and Calamity have returned," an officer on the Powell announced.

"What?" the Captain exclaimed and even Azrael looked surprised.

"They're docking in the hangar now," the officer explained as the hatches on the sides of the Powell opened up to let the three in. The Raider dropped the Calamity off on to the hatch before transforming again and following it in as the Forbidden went in as well.

"Tsch…" Azrael muttered under his breath, "Worthless bastards…"

"What the hell is this all about?" a scientist frowned as the Raider's cockpit opened and Clotho stumbled out of it, practically throwing his helmet aside as he dropped onto his hands and knees, "You useless…"

"D-Dammit!" Clotho swore, "Make it stop…!" The source of the mysterious pain that the three Extendeds were experiencing was a result of the drug that they had drank earlier. Called Gamma Glipheptin, the drug acted as a stimulant to increase their stamina and reaction time but once it wore off, they suffered from agonizing withdrawal effects. Even though this meant that they could only stay in combat for as long as the drug allowed them to, the fact that they practically lived on the stuff assured their loyalty to the Earth Forces.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Azrael said, his calm demeanor regained, "I'm sure they just need a little break from all the fighting, that's all. Tell all of our forces to withdraw for now."

"W-What?"

"It'll be pointless to keep attacking now that our trump cards are out of order," Azrael told him, "ORB's troops really are something…if we keep fighting without them, we'll end up losing all of our own soldiers."

"Fine," the Captain sighed, "Fire the signal flares! Withdraw at once!" At his words, a single flare was shot from the hull of the Powell, exploding in a large circle of red light.

-----------------------------

Over on the battlefield, the flare was seen by both sides, whether Mobile Suit pilot or warship crew member. As the ORB forces looked on in surprise, the Strike Daggers began to turn and head back to the Alliance fleet. "Lady Cagalli!" an officer called out, "The Earth Forces have begun to withdraw!"

"Withdraw?" Cagalli blinked, "But…why?"

"What the heck are those guys doing?" Dearka panted, tired from the fighting, "Taking a lunch break or something?"

"I dunno why they're pulling out, but that's a good thing for us," Mu muttered, "This'll buy us some time." Up in the air, the Justice turned to face the Freedom and Double X, prompting them to turn as well.

"Thanks for the back up, Athrun," Kira nodded, "But, I'm still wondering…what are your true intentions for coming here?" Athrun paused, remembering Nicol, his father, and Lacus, and what they had said to him the last time he saw them.

"I'm under orders from the homeland," Athrun replied as he opened the Justice's cockpit and raised the seat out of the opening, "To either recapture those units that you and Ryo are flying right now…the Freedom and Double X." He paused another moment before adding, "But…I have no intentions of fighting against either of you or your allies at the moment."

"Athrun?" Kira blinked as Ryo eased his grip on the control stick. Down on the ground, everyone was exhausted from the fighting and resting in their Mobile Suits. Mu and Dearka, who had possibly fought the most out of all of them, were sweating profusely while the latter bent his head to clear it. Nearby, Asagi and Mayura were leaned back in their seats but Juri was so tired that she fell asleep right on the spot. Meanwhile, Cagalli had left the Ministry of National Defense building and was walking around inspecting the battlefield, sighing as she saw the damaged caused by the fights.

"I just want to talk to you guys…" Athrun said, "Okay?"

"You mean you came all the way down here from space…" Ryo mused, "Just so you could chat with us?"

"I…guess you could say that…" Athrun smiled and Kira did as well.

"Let's head back," Kira advised, "We should at least talk face-to-face…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"We need a medic over here, now!"

"Get these to the pilots, they'll need them!"

"Hurry up! Move!" It was now evening and everyone was resting from the battle. Astray pilots had emerged from their Mobile Suits to get some fresh air and seek medical attention if they needed it. Asagi, Juri, and Mayura had gathered under the former's Astray unit and were taking a water break, although Mayura just dumped the contents over her head as opposed to the other two. Nearby, the Strike and Buster were standing by idly, Phase Shift Armor still activated, while Mu and Dearka climbed out of their cockpits. Mu quickly descended on the zip-cable and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he quickly sat and heaved a sigh. Dearka, on the other hand, stayed on the Buster while watching the Archangel approach the harbor, having just landed in the water.

"Alright, good work, everyone!" Cagalli called out as she walked by with Kisaka close behind, "I'm not sure why they suddenly pulled out, but…" At that moment, she looked up and saw the Freedom, Justice, and Double X approaching while the G-Falcon landed near the Archangel, the wings on the Justice's Fatum-00 folding down. Minutes later, the three Mobile Suits touched down near the docked Archangel facing each other as well, the Freedom and Double X on one side, the Justice on the other. Seeing them start to descend on their zip-cables, she quickly hurried over, with Kisaka and most of the pilots at her heels. Athrun touched the ground first and waited as Kira and Ryo also made it to the ground while Tiffa climbed out of the G-Falcon and cautiously approached them.

"That's…" Kisaka blinked, "The pilot we found!"

"Athrun?" Cagalli thought as Tiffa made her way over to where Kira and Ryo were standing. The latter turned to glance at her for a moment before turning back to the bluenette staring at him and Kira. Meanwhile, the crew of the Archangel had arrived and when Murrue saw what was happening, she quickly stopped and held her arms out to signal everyone behind her to do the same. It was around then that Athrun took a step forward and Ryo nodded to Kira, who also nodded and began walking forward too. As they approached each other, however, several ORB soldiers quickly moved forward and aimed their guns at Athrun, who didn't seem phased by this at all.

"He's not an enemy!" Kira suddenly said, gesturing at the soldier, much to everyone's surprise. When the soldiers didn't put their guns down, though, Ryo angrily stepped up and took action.

"Have you no shame? That guy just helped drive off the Earth Forces!" Ryo shouted, "Put down your weapons!" At this, the soldiers finally backed off and lowered their guns.

"Athrun?" Dearka blinked, "What's he doing here?" The question went unanswered, however, as the two friends approached each other, each recalling certain memories of their previous meetings. On Heliopolis, at the Morgenroete Factory, and their last one at the Marshall Islands; as well as the battles that cost them the lives of some of their closest friends. As the two neared each other, Athrun remembered the conversations that he had had with both Cagalli and Lacus before he had come here and before he knew it, he was looking at Kira in the face, only a few paces away from him. The situation reminded him of the day they parted as kids, when Athrun had first given Birdee to Kira. As the tension mounted for the bystanders, everyone wondering what would happen next, a mechanical chirp suddenly rang out and the two estranged friends looked to see none other than Birdee flying down to perch on Kira's shoulder. Athrun stared a little while Kira glanced at the mechanical bird and then turned back to him.

"Hi," Kira smiled, "Athrun." Athrun hesitated a bit, clenching his hand into a fist before making a reply.

"Kira…" Athrun nodded, "It's been a while…" At this, Cagalli knew that it would be okay between them and couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"Oh, you guys!" she shouted and without warning, ran over to the two, startling them as she pulled both into a one-armed hug.

"C-Cagalli?" Kira blinked while Athrun stared in surprise, "What are you…"

"Ugh…you're…" Cagalli stammered, pulling them closer, "You're both idiots!" However, she couldn't help but smile as the two looked at each other and chuckled a bit at her antics. Hours later, that night, the Morgenroete Factory was busier than ever repairing and re-supplying every single Mobile Suit and warship they had, including the Archangel. As technicians scurried about everywhere, Kira and Ryo were sitting with Athrun on crates to talk about things, although Ryo was really just standing against a wall. Nearby, Murrue, Mu, Sai, and Miriallia were standing near them and after a while, Dearka showed up as well.

"But…that's…!" Athrun exclaimed, still in his pilot suit.

"Yeah, I know," Kira sighed, "It does sound kind of crazy, but…" At that moment, he looked up to see Cagalli approaching them with some drinks and each of them took one.

"Thanks," Ryo nodded and took a sip from his.

"But…it can't really be helped," Kira said as Cagalli leaned against a wall next to Ryo with her own drink, "That's what I think. Cagalli's father is right…if ORB sides with the Earth Forces, then the Atlantic Federation will just use their resources to attack PLANT. It's the same thing if they decide to side with ZAFT…they'll just have a different enemy. We can't end a war like that…and I don't want to do things like that anymore either…that's why."

"But…" Athrun frowned, "That doesn't make sense…"

"Your friend…our friend…Nicol…" Ryo suddenly explained, "I killed him…but Kira never knew Nicol. We never wanted to kill him in the first place. The same thing when you killed Tolle…you didn't know him and it's not like you wanted to kill him either…" At this, Miriallia reeled in surprise and then it turned to shock and then sorrow as she was reminded of Tolle's death.

"I…" Athrun grimaced, "I…wanted to kill you two…that time…"

"We did too, Athrun," Kira assured him before looking up at their machines, "I always wanted to live in a world where I would never have to fight…and I was always able to live like that…But…the war only got worse…and it was only a matter of time until we got caught up into it too." Athrun frowned at this, remembering what his father had said about the N-Jammer Cancellers.

-----------------------------

"_If we are to win this war, then we will need it now. We need that power, Athrun!"_

-----------------------------

"If this continues, then things will get even more drastic," Kira sighed as Mu put an arm around Murrue's shoulders, "In the end, the PLANTs and Earth might end up destroying each other. That's why we're fighting."

"Kira…"

"Even if we say that we're doing this to protect…we've already pulled the trigger," Kira continued before asking, "Do you…think we'll fight again?"

"Kira?" Athrun blinked, "What do you mean?" Kira just smiled and Athrun suddenly remembered Lacus' words.

-----------------------------

"_So if I'm to be your enemy, you might as well shoot me now. Athrun Zala, Soldier of ZAFT!"_

-----------------------------

"Well…I'm gonna go get some work done," Kira said as he got up to leave, "We'd never know when they'll attack again."

"Just tell me this…the Freedom and Double X are both equipped with Neutron Jammer Cancellers," Athrun frowned as he too stood up, "What did you guys do with the data?"

"If anyone here tried to access it…we'd shoot them. Simple as that," Ryo said and then smiled as everyone blinked, "Don't worry about it, Athrun, we already know what'll happen if it gets into the wrong hands. That data's gone now, I've already deleted it." Athrun smiled a bit and Kira did the same before walking off towards the Freedom. At that point, Miriallia choked back a sob and ran off, startling Dearka.

"H-Hey!" Dearka called out after her, "Wait a minute!"

"What?" Miriallia snapped, although she did stop running.

"Um, well," Dearka said, suddenly tongue-tied, "Athrun…he killed that guy called Tolle…was he your boyfriend?"

"So what if he was?" Miriallia shouted, "Weren't you listening to what Kira and Ryo were talking about?"

"Um…uh…" Dearka stammered, as he hadn't really been listening at all.

"Would killing him bring Tolle back? Of course not!" Miriallia said, now close to tears, "So…so don't go around talking about stuff you don't know about!" At that, she finally turned and ran off again, wiping her eyes with her sleeve."

"Hey! Wait!" Dearka called out as he ran after her, "I didn't mean it like that!" Nearby, Athrun stared after the two as they ran off and turned to Ryo, who had also been watching.

"Say, Ryo," he said, "Who was that girl Dearka was talking to?"

"Who's Dearka?" Ryo blinked, "I don't remember meeting one."

"Oh…he used to be a member of the Creuset Team with Nicol and I," Athrun said, "He was the tan-guy."

"Oh, you mean the two running off?" Ryo asked and when Athrun nodded, Ryo told him, "That's Miriallia. Do you remember the Skygrasper you destroyed?" Athrun nodded again and Ryo said, "Well…the pilot was her boyfriend, Tolle." Athrun was taking aback for a moment, quite stunned by the information as Ryo added, "They were good friends of mine…they were two of the reasons why Kira and I joined the Earth Forces in the first place."

"You mean…" Athrun blinked, "This…Tolle guy…was your age? And he was flying that thing around?"

"Yeah," Ryo nodded, "I warned him that it was a bad idea, but…he was just being himself…" There was a pause before Ryo shrugged and added, "Well, I guess I'd better go get some stuff done too. Those Earth Forces guys could come back at any moment now…" With that, he gave Athrun a pat on the shoulder and walked off, leaving the bluenette to ponder his thoughts while Cagalli watched him.

-----------------------------

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Azrael asked on the Powell, "When will the preparations be finished?"

"The ORB government is still sending in requests for a meeting," the Captain replied, "Should we comply?"

"Oh, I'm afraid it's a little too late for that kind of thing now," Azrael shrugged, "If we couldn't take them out with a force this size…then wouldn't we be better off just wiping them out?"

"Well then, in that case, we'll be ready soon," the Captain replied, "Isn't the problem on your side?"

"Well, well, how silly of me to forget," Azrael smirked, "I guess we oughta start soon, shouldn't we?" Turning to a monitor on the deck, he added, "After all, I think I've punished those three enough for them to know that they have to take this as a real battle and not a mere demonstration."

-----------------------------

"Any reason why you're always hanging around me?" Athrun asked, watching Kira work on the Strike with Mu while he leaned against a lock, "You've been standing there even though everyone else left."

"Don't worry about it," Cagalli replied, leaning on another part of the lock, "I'm just keeping an eye on you."

"I see," Athrun smiled, "Well…that's nice of you, I guess."

"I'm glad Kira and Ryo are alive," Cagalli suddenly said and Athrun turned to her in surprise before he smiled again.

"Yeah," Athrun nodded and then added as he looked at the Justice, "You know, back then…I couldn't even thank you properly for taking me in for a little while."

"Oh, well, you did," Cagalli smiled, "Just…in a different way."

"Huh?" Athrun blinked, now confused, "I did?"

"Hmph, well, maybe since you were so out of it…" Cagalli huffed, "You probably can't remember."

"I guess not," Athrun chuckled and turned to see Kira taking a lift up to the Freedom's cockpit.

"Hey," Cagalli suddenly said, "Do you think…Kira's changed?" Athrun was quiet for a moment and thought a little before he gave his answer.

"Nope," Athrun replied, "Not a bit."

"Really?" Cagalli asked, "I think he has."

"Well," Athrun smiled, "That's just how he is. Ryo too." With that, he started walking away, only to be stopped by Cagalli.

"Wait," Cagalli said, "What are you gonna be doing now? I mean…you don't really have any way to get back to PLANT from here…I doubt my father would let you use our Mass Driver just for that."

"I…" Athrun frowned, "I really don't know."

"No, huh?" Cagalli sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Even after all this time?"

"No, but…" Athrun said, "Maybe…the answer's already here. It's just…hard to decide if it's right or not…"

"I guess…" Cagalli nodded as Athrun went to sit on a flight of stairs, "It's the same with everyone else." Elsewhere, Ryo was on his way to the Double X when he suddenly spotted Tiffa near a pile of crates. Pausing for a moment, he turned and walked over to her.

"Hey…" Ryo said, "We need to talk." Tiffa said nothing but averted her gaze, knowing what was coming. "Why did you go out in G-Falcon?" Ryo asked, "Why were you out there fighting?"

"I…" Tiffa stammered, trying to keep her cool, "I just…"

"Do you have any idea how worried I was when I heard you were flying around in that thing?" Ryo frowned, "I was this close to freaking out at the Captain for letting you go out there!"

"Ryo…" Tiffa said, "I…I'm sure I would have done fine…"

"Don't you get it, Tiffa? This isn't another simulation! This is real life in-your-face combat!" Ryo exclaimed, "If that pilot that Athrun was keeping busy had actually been aiming, he could've shot you right out of the air! And if he didn't get you, one of the other two would have just as easily shot you down!"

"Ryo, please…" Tiffa pleaded, "I just…"

"Look, Tiffa, I know you're a good pilot, I saw you use the Skygrasper simulator," Ryo said more calmly, "But war isn't a game. There's no way to start over if you die." After another pause, he put a hand on her shoulder as he added, "Hey, I'm not mad at you or anything. It's just…" He paused again and then smiled, "If you wanted to fly it so bad, why didn't you just ask? I could've given you pointers, you know."

"You mean…" Tiffa blinked, "You actually agree to me fighting?"

"Hey, I've said it before and I'll say it again as many times as I have to. It's your choice, you don't have to ask me for everything," Ryo grinned, "Now then, why don't we take a look at those controls and see if we can tweak them to suit you better…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was now morning the next day and the Earth Forces was preparing to renew their attack on ORB. All of their forces were ready and all that was left was to resolve the issue with the three Extended pilots. "Here you go, you three," a scientist said as he and two others handed capsules over to the three Biological CPUs, who had been deprived of the drugs since they had gotten back, "Your regular doses of Gamma Glipheptin, with ten extra ounces. These should last you for about two hours." The three Extendeds, still shaking from pain, desperately grabbed the capsules from their hands and snapped them open before quickly gulping down the invigorating liquids. As soon as they swallowed the last drop, the pain left and they were able to relax as the scientist said, "Now, if you don't want to get punished again, you'd better do it right this time."

"Th-Thank you…" Clotho gasped, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his pilot suit.

"Damn…" Orga silently swore as the three of them got up to return to the hangar.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, over in ORB, Kira was sleeping in the Freedom's cockpit while Athrun continued to sit on the stairs, thinking while Cagalli kept an eye on him. Nearby, Dearka walked around looking for Miriallia while Ryo crouched in the G-Falcon's cockpit with Tiffa, showing her the finer details of the craft, particularly how to properly dock the G-Falcon with the Double X.

-----------------------------

"Those guys…" Shani smirked, seated in the Forbidden.

"This time…" Clotho said, preparing to launch in the Raider.

"They're going down!" Orga finished in the Calamity and as the hatches on the sides of the Powell finished opening, the Forbidden moved out while the Raider flew off before transforming into Mobile Armor mode, allowing the Calamity to jump onto its back. Revitalized and itching for revenge, the three pilots took off towards Onogoro Island, where their targets remained blissfully ignorant of the approaching danger.

Phase 39: End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Correct, and therefore, Shinn will not have any reason to fight. Technically, the X was closer because it severed the Aegis from the Strike just before it exploded and thus receiving heavy damage. As for the picture, Ryo took it just after Mu and Murrue had realized that other people had walked into the room.

really-great-noodles1- I never said there would be no sequel. Just that if there is one, it won't be based on Destiny.

Light of the Demons- See the above replies.

General MG- I understand your logic but keep in mind that Destiny happens two full years after the original series. Besides, I've got other plans for Gilbert and friends…

steinerdavion2183- I would email you, but the address never showed up. If it's that important, you may put it in the review or email me directly.


	41. Into the Dawn Skies

Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 40: Into the Dawn Skies

_June 16, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory_

Deep beneath the waves, a shadow passed over the rocky ocean bottom as the Forbidden glided through the water, using its Geschmeidig Panzer generators to repel the water away from it and propel it through the depths. As Shani strained to see what was up ahead, Orga and Clotho flew overhead in the Calamity and Raider, all of them prepared for another round of fighting. Meanwhile, the Alliance fleet began another bombardment, launching cruise missiles in swarms while Spearheads took flight from the decks of the ships. In a matter of moments, the incoming threats were detected by the radar sensors located on the mainland and klaxons began to sound.

"Something's come up on the radar!" an officer shouted, "Cruise missiles! We're detecting Mobile Suits heading this way too!"

"Alert! Mobile Suit and aerial units are advancing on Onogoro! All defense units report to your stations!"

"Hurry up!" a technicians at the Morgenroete factory shouted as other scurried about to get things ready, "Ready the Mobile Suit squads and get ready to intercept them!" As Athrun and Dearka watched from the floor, the pilots of the Astray units hurriedly boarded their units and in a few minutes, the mobile beds straightened up to let the machines move out. Back at the Ministry of National Defense building, Cagalli was trying to keep up with the constant stream of information coming in every few seconds.

"Dammit…" Cagalli swore under her breath, "They didn't even respond to our conference requests…"

"Lord Uzumi," Representative Omura said as he entered a room with a few others, "The Atlantic Federation has begun a second attack."

"Tsch, those bastards…so this is the response of the Atlantic Federation?" Uzumi frowned, "If you brand someone as an enemy, then you will want to fight them to their demise!" Outside, the ORB forces were already engaging the enemy forces, shooting down cruise missiles and Spearheads as they came.

"Damn…" Dearka swore as a the factory shook, having been hit by a missile, "This really isn't the best time…"

"Kira! Ryo!" Athrun called out when he spotted the two hurrying over to their Mobile Suits, causing them to stop as he caught up to them, "You guys know that ORB doesn't stand a chance, right? Not against the Earth Forces."

"Yeah, we know…and it's not just us, either," Kira nodded, smiling a little, "But…just because we don't have a chance doesn't mean we can give up and not fight." Meanwhile, the Archangel had already headed into the battlefield while Mu had gone out in the Strike to help the ORB forces.

"Kira…"

"At this point, all we're really fighting for is what we believe in," Ryo told him, "That's why we're going."

"Yeah," Kira smiled, "It's not that we want to fight…it's just that there are some things that we can only protect by fighting."

-----------------------------

"_But what is it that you believe in, Athrun? What is it that you're fighting for now? Is if for that medal you received? For your father's orders?"_

-----------------------------

"Kira…" Athrun muttered, remembering Lacus' words again.

"Sorry, Athrun, but we have to go," Kira said as he boarded a lift to get to the Freedom's cockpit, "But it was nice to be able to talk to you again."

"Kira…"

"I'd better get going too," Ryo nodded, putting a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "I'll see you later, I guess…" With that, he turned and walked off to the Double X, where Tiffa was waiting beside the G-Falcon.

"Well, that was kind of awkward, huh?" a voice suddenly asked and the bluenette turned to see Dearka standing behind him.

"Dearka?"

"You have an order to retrieve those things, don't you?" Dearka asked, earning him a confused look, "Heh, I guess it wouldn't be good if we interfered, would it? Being ZAFT soldiers and all…"

"But…those guys…" Athrun frowned, "I don't want to leave them to die out there!"

"Well, that's a first," Dearka grinned, approaching Athrun, "I don't think we've ever agreed on anything before…" After a brief silence, he added, "You know, I really don't have any regrets now. I mean, after seeing Alaska, Panama, and now this, I realized that this war isn't what I thought it was. Not that I ever trusted the Earth Forces or anything, but…I don't think I can believe ZAFT now either." He paused before saying, "Besides…there's someone I wanna look after now too…"

"I…still don't know what to believe in," Athrun sighed, "But ORB welcomed me into their territory even though I was a ZAFT pilot…I don't want to see the people here die." As the two former team mates talked, the battle was still raging on outside. The Archangel, being the heaviest armed ship, was able to shoot down large clumps of missiles with its Igelstellung guns and Gottfried cannons while still taking on the Alliance fleet.

"Valiants aim! Fire!" Murrue ordered and both of the Archangel's linear guns fired, hitting two Arkansas-class cruisers and destroying them. All of a sudden, the Forbidden burst out from beneath the surface, its Nidhoggr scythe in a post-slash position, before an Aegis-class ship beneath it exploded, cut in nearly two. Nearby, another Aegis-class exploded after being bombarded by fire from the Raider's heavy machine guns. Two Astray units that appeared to engage it were quickly destroyed by the Calamity's Schlag cannons as it rode on the Raider's back.

"Where are those three from yesterday?" Orga snarled, "Where are they hiding?" Down below, several Arkansas and Des Moines-class cruisers had made their way to the mainland and were deploying large numbers of Strike Daggers, which wasted no time in engaging the ORB forces.

"Lieutenant Morgan!" one Astray pilot called out as the unit next to his was destroyed before his own was as well, along with a linear tank. As the smoke cleared, however, two new units appeared in the sky, the Freedom and Double X, the latter using the G-Falcon as a support lifter. The Strike Dagger pilots panicked at seeing the two powerful Mobile Suits and opened fire, which the two easily dodged. Inside their cockpits, Kira and Ryo activated the multi-lock on systems and the Freedom deployed all of its guns while the Twin Satellite Cannons folded over the Double X's shoulders.

"On my mark, Tiffa," Ryo said over the comm.

"Okay," Tiffa nodded, waiting for Ryo to give the word.

"Now!" Ryo exclaimed and the Freedom, Double X, and G-Falcon fired down on the Strike Daggers, crippling them so that they wouldn't be a problem before turning their attention on the incoming cruise missiles. Unfortunately, their fire attracted the attention of the three Extended pilots and as the G-Falcon flew off to help the Archangel while the Freedom and Double X went to engage the rest of the Strike Daggers, they immediately turned their attention on them. As the Freedom slashed off the arms of a few Strike Daggers with a Lacerta beam saber, Kira looked to see two beams of energy heading at him and had the Freedom take off to avoid the blasts.

"Heh, finally found them!" Orga grinned, blasting away with the Calamity's Schlag cannons. Shani, who had maneuvered behind the Freedom, fired the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon and Kira was forced to dodge the curving beam before the Raider grazed the Freedom with its claws as it flew by.

"I'll be sure to kill you today!" Clotho laughed and before Kira knew it, he was being bombarded on all sides by the weapons of the three Alliance Gundams.

"Dammit!" Kira swore, "Ryo, a little help here!"

"I'm on it!" Ryo nodded and quickly flew into the fray to help his friend. Despite the assistance, however, the two were outnumbered and outgunned and they were slowly forced back, firing as they went. "Crap…" Ryo frowned, "This isn't looking too good." At that moment, however, a disk of hot pink energy came flying at the Forbidden, blocking it off as it swatted it away with its Nidhoggr scythe. Moments later, a beam of bright green energy cut off the Raider and Calamity, forcing them to halt their charge as the Fatum-00 support lifter flew by. "That's…the Justice!" Ryo exclaimed as the disk, which turned out to be one of the Justice's Bassel beam boomerangs, deactivated and reattached itself to the Justice's shoulder while the Fatum-00 docked with its back before folding into horizontal mode.

"Hang on you guys!" Athrun called out from the Justice as he flew towards them.

"Athrun?" Kira blinked, "But…why are you…?"

"Bastard!" Clotho swore as he fired the Raider's hyper velocity cannons, with the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon providing additional fire, "How dare you interfere!"

"Hey!" Orga mused, firing the Calamity's guns as it charged through the shallow water, "The red one's here now too!"

"So, Athrun," Ryo said, "Whatever happened to 'ORB doesn't have a chance'?"

"We understand it now too," Athrun replied as the Justice flew about to avoid the Calamity's shots, "We know that…there are some things that we can only protect by fighting!"

"We?" Ryo blinked, "Isn't it just…" He trailed off when he saw a trio of Spearheads hit the Archangel with a volley of missiles before being obliterated by a shot from the Buster's long-range sniper rifle, the sheer force of the recoil pushing away loose debris, "Oh…never mind, then…"

"Athrun!" Kira called out as the three Gundams were bunched back-to-back with each other.

"Alright, guys," Athrun said, "Let's get 'um!"

"Right behind you, Athrun!" Ryo laughed as the three separated to avoid the Calamity's Schlag cannons and then charged them, "They're going down this time!" Meanwhile, on the mainland, the battle had finally shifted into a stale-mate. Strike Daggers and Astray units alike were being destroyed left and right by beam rifle fire from each side.

"Leonardo!" a Strike Dagger pilot cried as his companion's unit was blown up, "Damn you!" The same pilot proceeded to shoot wildly from behind his Strike Dagger's shield, managing to destroy two Astray units.

"Turn 30 to port! Concentrate our fire on the left wing of the enemy fleet!" Murrue ordered on board the Archangel, "Load the Sledgehammer missiles and ready the Valiant cannons! Gottfrieds 1 and 2, aim, fire!" Both of the Archangel's main cannons fired, managing to hit an Arkansas-class on its side and destroy it. At the same time, the Powell was sitting a safe distance away from the battlefield, being the flagship of the fleet. Inside, Azrael was lounging around in his seat, watching the battle with a rather bored expression.

"You know, I'd really like to get this done and over with by the end of the day," Azrael sighed, "It's no fun sitting on this thing all day." Back on the mainland, the Buster was moving as fast as it could to avoid the shots from the enemy Strike Daggers. Thinking quickly, Dearka hit the thrusters and the Buster took to the air before combining its weapons to form its anti-armor shotgun. Wasting no time, Dearka fired the weapon and effectively wiped out the small group that had been attacking him. Meanwhile, Cagalli had been watching the battle on the screens in the Ministry of Defense Building. Up until now, she had been successful in keeping calm but now, having watched many brave soldiers sacrifice their lives for their country, her tolerance finally reached its peak and she turned to leave the room.

"Cagalli!" Kisaka exclaimed, catching hold of her arm, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Let go of me!" Cagalli frowned, jerking her arm from his grip, "I'm tired of sitting here doing nothing! I'm going out to fight too!"

"Don't be absurd, Cagalli!" Kisaka said, "You're the Commander of this battle!"

"Are you telling me to just sit back and watch while everyone else is out their risking their lives?" Cagalli asked angrily, "What kind of Commander does that?"

"If you leave, then who will give out orders? Who will keep the army under control?" Kisaka frowned, "I'm telling you to actually think about your actions, Cagalli!"

"But..." Cagalli stammered, her frustration pushing her to the verge of tears, "I can't just…"

"Calm down," Kisaka said in a softer tone, "I'm sure that you'll take to the battlefield eventually. But for now, you have to wait it out…" Outside, missiles that slipped past the defenses continued to hit buildings, damaging them further both on the outside and inside.

"Lord Uzumi," a representative said to the Lion of ORB as the overhead lights in their building flickered, "The preparations are complete. The work should be finished within two hours."

"That's too long. We need all the time we can get," Uzumi frowned, "Very well, then, I'll be on my way. Order all remaining forces to fall back to the Kaguya…we're abandoning Onogoro."

-----------------------------

"ORB's doing rather well holding its own," Rau said with a small grin, peering into the periscope of a Vosgulov submarine to watch the ensuing battle from a safe distance, "However, it looks like it'll only be a matter of time until they're defeated with their current forces." Stepping back from the periscope, Rau added, "They're certainly a powerful nation…I can see why the Earth Forces was so bent on acquiring their power. What's the data on those new Mobile Suits?"

"We're doing the best we can to monitor their abilities," an officer said, his eyes trained on the screen that showed the Alliance and ORB Gundams battling each other, "But at our current distance, our conclusion on the matter is sketchy at best."

"I wonder if we'll ever fight one of them…though it won't be much of a surprise at this rate," Rau remarked, "Oh well…this data will be good enough to use as a souvenir for the Chairman when we get back." Turning, he added, "Let me know when something comes up."

"Yes sir." Later, as Rau and Yzak were walking through the hallways of the sub, Rau suddenly stopped and turned to face his subordinate.

"You seem rather bored, Yzak," Rau said, "Do you wish you were out there fighting too?"

"Eh?" Yzak blinked, surprised by the question, "Um, no…no sir…"

"ORB even went as far as to refuse our generous offer to support them," Rau shrugged as he continued to walk, "That's just too bad for them…"

"It's just…" Yzak started but was cut off by Rau.

"We'll only be here for a little while longer to watch and then we'll head back to Carpentaria," Rau continued, "I know you must be feeling…stifled, as you haven't been out fighting since Panama, but just wait a little longer and you'll be back on the battlefield in no time."

"Commander," Yzak suddenly said, causing Rau to stop and turn to listen, "What about that girl? Shouldn't we treating our prisoners as what they are?"

"Heh, now Yzak, war isn't all about having the biggest sword," Rau smiled, knowing that Yzak was referring to Flay, "There are other ways to winning a fight."

"Sir?"

"I've…been looking for a 'key', Yzak. A key that will bring an end to this war," Rau said, "And I think…I may have found one…" With that, he turned and resumed walking, leaving a very confused Yzak standing in the middle of the hallway.

-----------------------------

"A retreat order?" Murrue asked on the Archangel, "When?"

"Representative Athha just ordered for all remaining units to return to the Kaguya," Sai told her, "Especially us."

"The Kaguya?" Neumann blinked, turning around in his chair.

"ORB's Mass Driver," Sai explained, "It's almost directly next to the government buildings." As the Archangel began to turn around, the Gundams were still locked in combat, having not received the order to retreat yet. Kira pulled the Freedom up to avoid a swing from the Forbidden's Nidhoggr scythe and then shot at it with its beam rifle. Meanwhile, the Raider had launched its Mjolnir hammer at the Justice, which detached the Fatum-00 support lifter from its back and shot at the Raider. The support lifter flew in an arc before just barely missing the black Mobile Suit as Clotho pulled back sharply.

"Dammit!" Clotho swore, "These guys are getting on my nerves!"

"They just won't quit!" Orga snarled, repeatedly firing at the Double X with its Schlag cannons before a beeping sound caught his attention. Looking down, he was startled to see the power meter almost depleted and he swore at his ill fortune, "Dammit, this lousy piece of trash! It's already out of power!"

"That's cause you wasted it all, idiot!" Clotho teased as he flew by in the Raider.

"What did you just say?"

"You can go on back alone if you want," Clotho added as he shot at the Fatum-00 with the Raider's hyper velocity cannons, "I don't care." At that moment, however, the Raider's sensors reacted to something and Clotho looked to see the Justice burst out of the water, its sabers connected and activated. With a cry, Athrun swung the Justice's beam "spear" and Clotho was so surprised that he accidentally raised the Raider's Mjolnir hammer instead of its shield to defend himself. This resulted in the Mjolnir hammer being cut in two and the Raider let go before it exploded and Clotho transformed it into Mobile Armor to make a quick get-away before the Justice could do any more damage.

"Ha! Who's the idiot now?" Orga laughed as Clotho seethed in his cockpit.

"Ah shut up, you…" Clotho started but was suddenly cut off when the entire Raider shook as the Calamity jumped onto its back, "You idiot! Warn me when you're gonna jump onto my back like that!"

"Shut up and get us back to the ship so we can re-supply!" Orga shouted, "Or do you want to keep fighting in that condition?"

"Dammit!" Clotho swore and pushed the Raider faster. Meanwhile, the Forbidden had shot at the Freedom with its Eckzahn railguns, which the latter dodged and retaliated by shooting its Balaena plasma cannons. Shani hit the switch to activate the Geschmeidig Panzer generators but to his surprise, the shield didn't activate and the beams scraped against the top of the Forbidden's backpack before he looked down to see that his own battery was now drained beyond use.

"Hmm…guess it's over," Shani sighed with disappointment before noticing that Kira had taken advantage of the delay to attack with the Freedom's Lacerta beam saber. Reacting quickly, Shani pulled back and swung the Forbidden's Nidhoggr scythe, only to have it blocked by the Freedom's shield. The Freedom then swung its saber in a powerful vertical slice, which the Forbidden dodged and instead hit the water, sending up a cloud of mist as the green Mobile Suit bid a hasty retreat.

"Okay, guys, nice work," Ryo panted as the three of them watched them go, "Come on, let's get back to the mainland. I just heard we're supposed to be regrouping at the Kaguya…"

-----------------------------

"Those three…" Azrael sighed as the Calamity, Raider, and Forbidden docked inside the Powell, "I give them so much and they still can't make any progress."

"Hurry up with the re-supplying!" the Captain ordered, "We've got to get back on track as soon as possible!"

"Heh…oh well," Azrael smirked darkly, "They're not out of the fire yet…."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Back at the mainland, the Archangel had been secured inside a cage-like structure as several Astray units moved about on it, attaching large boosters to its sides. The Freedom, Justice, Double X, and Buster had been stationed just outside of it and the pilots had gone inside. Inside the Kaguya's control center, Uzumi had finished a meeting with the Archangel's senior crew, with Cagalli, Tiffa, and Dearka also present, and shocked all of them with his most recent plan. "Leave ORB?" Murrue gaped when she heard this, "Lord Uzumi…are you telling us to just run away?"

"I'm sure that you've all realized the reality of the situation," Uzumi sighed, "ORB is already lost…it's only a matter of time before it falls."

"Father?" Cagalli blinked confused, "What do you mean?"

"The people have been evacuated. We even have additional support," Uzumi said firmly, "We will make our last stand here." As Kira, Athrun, and Ryo walked in, he added, "But…even if we must lose ORB, there are some things that we can never afford to let go of. The Earth Force's current actions are being guided by the leader of the Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael. And to make matters worse, the PLANTs believe that the Coordinators are some kind of newly evolved species, for Patrick Zala leads them now." At this, Athrun looked down guiltily as Uzumi went on, "From the way things are heading now, the world will be trapped between two armed camps that refuse to accept each other's existence. Is this the future that you want to see?" After pausing a bit, he said, "If you wish to see a different future…then take this small light of hope that we have kindled and bring it with you into the stars. I know that the road ahead will be long and difficult, but this is our one and only request to you, Murrue Ramius. Do you understand?"

"Even though that light is small, it still burns brightly," Murrue nodded after a moment of thought, "We believe in this as well."

"Very well then," Uzumi nodded, "You should hurry and begin your preparations now. We are moving as fast as we can."

"Of course, Lord Uzumi," Murrue nodded and bowed before she left with Mu and Neumann, leaving the others behind. As they left, Uzumi put a comforting hand on Cagalli's head before turning to look at Kira and Ryo, the former giving him a confused look. Later, the preparations for the Archangel's departure were almost complete, with the boosters being put in place.

"Hurry up with the booster attachments!" a technician shouted. Meanwhile, beneath the Ministry of National Defense building, ORB's own war-ship, the Izumo-class ship Kusanagi was being raised into a large chamber, where every remaining Astray unit stood by waiting.

"Junction is stable, catapult contact confirmed."

"There's been a change in the force quantity data."

"Then make the adjustments, divide the workload if necessary. Start loading up the M1!"

"We're finally going to space," Mayura sighed as the hatch to the Kusanagi's linear catapult opened.

"Just the way I wanted it to be…" Juri muttered as a ramp connected the floor to the catapult opening.

"Damn those Earth Forces!" Asagi swore and walked her Astray unit up the ramp before the others began to follow suit.

-----------------------------

"They regrouped at the Kaguya?" Azrael frowned, "Why would they do that?"

"They must have realized that it's over," the Captain said, "They're going to fight with their backs to a wall…it's all or nothing for them now…"

"Tsch…that damn Athha," Azrael smirked, "What kind of trick does he have hiding up his sleeve now?" After a pause, he added, "Oh well, we'll be courteous and let him carry out his plan. In the meantime, we'll just pound away at them as we please…"

-----------------------------

"These are spare boosters that were used with the Kusanagi once, but they should be able to produce enough power to get you through," a technician told the Archangel after the boosters were securely in place, "Also, firing the Archangel's Lohengrin cannons and using the effects of Positronic Interference should increase your speed even more." As he spoke, the bridge crew was busy putting in last minute adjustments to the controls. They knew about Positronic Interference, a phenomenon caused by firing the Lohengrin cannons directly into the air. It was essentially tear a whole through the atmosphere and let the Archangel to ride along the "air spike" that it created to make getting to space easier. However, it was a very unorthodox maneuver and was used more commonly as an emergency launch sequence, which pertained to the situation quite well. Outside, the four Gundam pilots were having a last minute chat before they left, discussing their current plan. Dearka was currently trying to persuade Athrun to go back to Carpentaria with him, in spite of what he had said earlier that day.

"Well, yeah, there's no reason why they wouldn't let us go back there," Dearka shrugged, "I mean, we have been fighting the Earth Forces the whole time."

-----------------------------

"Have all the civilians left the mainland?" Uzumi asked.

"As of now, about 96 percent of Onogoro Island residents have taken shelter. We're still waiting on the last few boats."

"What about the Earth Forces?"

"They're about twenty nautical miles off of our south-west border. It looks like they're restocking."

"Father!" Cagalli suddenly said, "Come on! We have to get on board too!"

"The Archangel's boosters are currently undergoing their final check."

"Make them hurry!" Uzumi ordered as the Kusanagi docked with a large, shell-like cover, "We have no time to lose!"

"Don't ignore me!" Cagalli complained, "Father!"

-----------------------------

Rather than responding to Dearka, Athrun thought back to what Lacus had said to him again and sighed, "She…called me a Soldier of ZAFT…" As the others looked at him in confusion, he went on, "She knew what would happen all along…heh…"

"Athrun?" Kira blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"I always thought that war was all about following the orders of your nation…and fighting your enemies with all your strength…" Athrun said, "I thought…that it couldn't be helped…that if it would end the war even a day sooner, that it would be enough…" Athrun paused and then asked, "But…what is it that we should be fighting against? And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Finally understanding, Kira and Ryo glanced at each other and nodded before turning back to Athrun.

"You should come with us, Athrun," Kira smiled, "We'll find the answer to your question…together…" Athrun and Dearka blinked a little before also smiling and returning the nod."

-----------------------------

"Okay, guys," Azrael said over the speakers as the hatches on the Powell's sides opened, "Let's make sure we finish it this time!" Soon after, the Calamity, Raider, and Forbidden launched and headed towards the mainland as Azrael added, "I'd really like to start having meals on land again, you know?"

-----------------------------

"Weather forecasts around the Kaguya area are acceptable conditions."

"Incoming Mobile Suits detected on the radar!" an officer warned as the klaxons began to sound.

"It's time," Uzumi said, "Lady Ramius, please launch now!"

"Understood," Murrue nodded, "Kira? Ryo?"

"Standing by, we'll cover your launch," Kira replied, adjusting the Freedom's controls, "What about the Kusanagi?"

"It'll be out shortly," Uzumi replied, "We have it covered."

"It's going to be an aerial battle," Athrun said, "Sorry, Dearka, but it'll be impossible for the Buster to fight. You'll have to stay with the Archangel for this one."

"Damn…" Dearka sighed but nonetheless, he turned the Buster around and guided it into the Archangel's linear catapult.

"Tiffa, you stay inside too," Ryo said, "We'll be moving pretty fast; I don't think the G-Falcon can keep up."

"Okay," Tiffa nodded as the top of the cage-structure holding down the Archangel opened. Moments later, the Archangel's thrusters burst to life and the ship began to rise into the air.

"Raise bow 20!" Murrue ordered, "Lohengrin cannons on standby! Once we fire, put the engines at maximum power!"

"This thing's way bigger and heavier than the other models, so you'd better put on a double anchor lock," a technician said as the Buster made it to the hangar, "We're going to be busting right through the atmosphere!"

-----------------------------

"Father, please!" Cagalli pleaded, "We have to go!"

"What are you still doing here, Cagalli?" Uzumi frowned, as if he had just noticed her, "Hurry up and leave!"

"But…"

"Mobile Suits are approaching, distance 15!" an officer warned before Cagalli found herself being pulled along by her father.

"We have our own mission!" Uzumi said, "You have your own mission!"

"But…!" Cagalli complained, close to tears now, but Uzumi interrupted her sharply.

"The difference between the strength of the Earth Alliance and our own is very clear!" Uzumi told her, "We're finished if there's no one left to carry on our hopes! Why can't you understand that?"

"Then why don't you go with us?" Cagalli asked, "That way…"

"You know that I can't do that!" Uzumi said, "If the people have no one to lead them, then they will be left stranded!" Moments later, he added in a more calm tone, "Don't worry, the Earth Alliance is only after our Mass Driver and Morgenroete…the battle will end if we hand them over…"

-----------------------------

As the Forbidden slinked through the depths, the Raider and Calamity flew overhead, their pilots itching to finish the fight once and for all. "Let's go!" Clotho shouted eagerly, "You'd better keep up, Shani!"

"Kira! Ryo!" Athrun said when his radar began reacting, "They're coming!"

"I see them!" Kira replied, then turned to the Archangel, "Captain, please launch now!"

"Right!" Murrue nodded, "Lohengrin, fire!" At her command, both of the Archangel's Lohengrin cannons charged briefly before unleashing solid beams of positron particles into the sky. Moments later, a bright flash appeared before a tunnel of light descended around the Archangel as its thrusters were pushed to the maximum, the boosters activating as well. As this was happening, the Raider and Calamity arrived to see the white ship getting away and Orga growled in frustration as he took aims with the Calamity's Schlag cannons, only for Clotho to pull away to avoid a shot from the Justice's beam rifle.

-----------------------------

"Lord Uzumi! Cagalli!" Kisaka called out when he saw his superior and charge approaching the Kusanagi from the ramp he was standing on.

"Go, Kisaka!" Uzumi said, thrusting Cagalli into his arms, "And take my foolish daughter with you!"

"Yes sir," Kisaka nodded, knowing full well what he was talking about.

"Father!"

-----------------------------

As the Archangel continued to ride through the air-spike, the Freedom, Justice, and Double X were locked in combat with the Alliance Gundams once again. Athrun hastily moved the Justice aside to avoid the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon while the Freedom and Double X moved to dodge the charging Raider and Forbidden.

-----------------------------

"Stop giving me that look," Uzumi said gently, putting his hand on Cagalli's head, "It doesn't suit the daughter of the Lion of ORB…"

"But…" Cagalli whimpered, now being restrained by Kisaka.

"You're leaving your father, but I promise that you will never be alone," Uzumi smiled and reached into his breast-pocket, "You will be…" He withdrew the hand on her head and handed her a photograph, "With your brothers. Stay with each other…help one another when you're in need. They will take care of you now." Confused, Cagalli took the photograph to examine it. It was of a brunette woman reclining on a bed of some kind, holding a pair of infants in her arms; one with brown hair wrapped in a blue blanket, the other with blonde hair in a pink one. Blinking, she flipped the picture over to discover two names scrawled onto the bottom right corner.

Kira

Cagalli

Slowly getting an idea of what her father was talking about, she looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak, only to see him smile and nod as if he knew what she was about to ask. "I am very fortunate…" Uzumi smiled, "To have been your father. Good-bye, Cagalli." With that, a door suddenly slid between the two, as Kisaka had gently guided Cagalli onto the ship backwards while she was staring at the photo. Alarmed and greatly distressed, Cagalli pounded on the window of the door, crying out to her father as the ramp began to slide back. "Fly, Kisaka!" Uzumi called out as he slowly moved further away, "I'm counting on you!" The last that he saw of his daughter and her bodyguard was the latter's nod of understanding before a steel hatch closed over the door.

"All civilians in Sector C have been evacuated!" a technician announced as Uzumi headed back to the control room, "All systems are go, commencing the Kusanagi's final launch sequence." As the Izumo-class ship began to lurch forward, the technician uttered the traditional message given to ships as they were leaving, "May Haumea protect you." As the magnetic generators lining the Kaguya activated, the Kusanagi began to gradually increase speed. Unfortunately, it was spotted by the three Alliance Gundams as well as the rest of the Alliance fleet from the distance.

"What the hell is that?" Azrael frowned, pointing to the now disappearing Archangel, "The Archangel?"

"Sir, something's launching from ORB's Mass Driver!"

"Don't let them get away!" Azrael suddenly exclaimed, getting up from his seat, "We've got to capture them both!"

"But aren't we supposed to be focusing on the Mass Driver?"

"What are you talking about? ORB's new Mobile Suits are in those ships!" Azrael said, "If we capture them, then we'll have the upper hand in this war! Isn't it a waste to let a doomed nation like ORB hang onto them?" Meanwhile, the three Biological CPUs were watching the Kusanagi move along and they were rather confused, as they had never seen such a ship.

"Huh?" Clotho blinked, "What the hell is that?"

"Well, what do we have here?" Orga grinned, "Looks like something else to blow to me!"

"Athrun! Ryo!" Kira called out as the Freedom, Justice, and Double X grouped together.

"Right!" Athrun nodded and the three started flying after the Kusanagi. On board, Cagalli and Kisaka had made it to a viewing deck and Cagalli was pressing herself to the window, crying out as the mainland grew smaller and smaller.

"Father!" Cagalli called out, now crying, "Father!" Outside, the three Alliance Gundams were in hot pursuit of the Kusanagi and the three Coordinators, firing their weapons wildly at them. By now, Kira, Athrun, and Ryo had abandoned trying to counter-attack and focused on catching up to the Kusanagi, which had now reached top speed.

"Dammit!" Orga shouted as the three continued to dodge and slowly gained on the ship. The Double X was the first to dock, landing on the top of the ship while the Freedom and Justice opted for the side, the former reaching out for a projection on the hull. Moments later, the Freedom had grabbed on securely and now turned around before reaching out to pull the Justice on as well.

"I'll getcha!" Clotho shouted as the three Biological CPUs continued to shoot at them. Meanwhile, the Justice's thrust power seemed to be proving inefficient to catch up, even with the help of the Fatum-00 support lifter, as it started to fall behind. Just when it seemed that Athrun would be lost, however, the Freedom and Justice reached out as far as they could go and by some miracle of fate, managed to grab onto each other's hands before the Freedom pulled the Justice into the air-pressure zone, where it could safely dock with the ship. Having secured a footing, the two machines turned to face the three Alliance Gundams and deployed their guns, the Freedom slightly above the Justice as the Double X aimed as well. Realizing they had been beaten, the three Extendeds hurriedly slowed down as the Freedom, Justice, and Double X fired all at once, hitting the ocean and sending up a tremendous wall of water in front of the Alliance Gundams. This was enough of a diversion for them to stop and let the Kusanagi travel up and off the Kaguya Mass Driver, its last thrusters kicking in to propel it up faster than the speed of sound. Down below, Uzumi watched the Kusanagi depart from the control center as other Representatives gathered behind him, preparing for the final step of the plan.

"The seeds of have flown," Uzumi said in a satisfied tone, "We have succeeded!" Reaching down, he twisted a knob and hit a large red square button as he added fiercely, "We cannot leave ORB, or this world…" Klaxons began to blare before a bright light emitted from the dashboard, "In the hands of those bastards…" Out at sea, an intense light could be seen radiating from the island, bathing the three hovering Alliance Gundams in its glow. Then, all of a sudden, explosions ripped through the Kaguya Mass Driver, tearing apart its metal frame and blowing the very end clean off before the entire structure collapsed into the ocean, where it would lie inaccessible to others who would use it for malice. On the mainland, the Morgenroete Factory was consumed by an enormous fireball, reducing the once proud facility to a smoldering ruin.

"You…Damn you! Uzumi Nara Athha!" Azrael swore furiously as he watched from the Powell, "I will never give up! I'll find another way, you'll see!" Up above, the Archangel and Kusanagi were still low enough for everyone on it to see what was happening. As crewmembers and pilots looked on in shock, the control center linked to the Kaguya exploded as well. Within the flames, however, was the figure of Uzumi Nara Athha, standing tall and proud in the face of death like a god. Then, he lifted his face towards heaven and smiled again, watching his daughter go.

"Yes…Cagalli…" Uzumi said, "I was very happy…just being your father…" With those final words, he closed his eyes and vanished in a roar of flames. At that moment, Cagalli felt a hole open up in her heart and knew what had happened. However, her mind refused to believe the feeling and she shook her head in denial, tears streaming down her face.

"FAAATHEEEERRR!" she screamed, watching the only home she ever knew slowly shrink from view as the Kusanagi moved onward towards the stars, taking with it the hopes of a brave man who had made the ultimate sacrifice to sow the seeds of peace.

Phase 40- End

To the reviewers:

Light of the Demons- The G-Falcon is technically a support lifter, similar to the Justice's Fatum-00 unit. The only difference is that it can be flown manually, so it's basically a cross between a fighter and a Guul.

Infinite Freedom- Remember, though Tiffa is a more defensive fighter and even then, she fights only because she feels obligated to. The G-Falcon does not have Phase Shift Armor, similar to the Fatum-00 again. Also, it would have been impossible for Ryo to use the Twin Satellite Cannons on the Alliance fleet during the escape. Remember, Ryo suffers pain when he takes a life and besides, the Twin Satellite Cannon is powered by a microwave laser shot down from the moon. At the velocity that the Kusanagi was traveling at, it would have been impossible for the laser to track the Double X at that speed.

Ominae- Well, I suppose having her around would cause them to lower their guard a little, so…

really-great-noodles1- This story is a novelization of the series. So yes, it probably will except for a few things, which you'll have to wait to see.

steinerdavion2183- It's still not showing up. Tell you what, just PM me whatever you have to say, I've enabled it for now so you can do that.

Author's note: I'll be doing some renovations on the story after this chapter, so I won't be updating adding new ones for a while. Thing is, I've forgotten how to replace chapters, so if one of you would be so kind as to remind me how, I'd be very grateful…


	42. Trembling World

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 41- Trembling World

_June 16, C.E. 71, Earth's Orbit, Archangel and Kusanagi_

"Hull B, 200 degrees. Hull C, 200 degrees. Axis is acceptable, landing path is clear. Begin approach." Up above the Earth's atmosphere, the Archangel was waiting for the recently launched Kusanagi to complete its preparations. Being an Izumo-class battleship, it was split into multiple parts and each piece was now attaching to the hull to form additional thrusters and the linear catapult, more-or-less slightly similar in appearance to the Archangel.. Numerous Astray units patrolled around the two ships, accompanied by the Freedom, Justice, and Double X. "Division and conversions complete. The Kusanagi's docking operations are finished."

"What about Miss Cagalli?" Murrue asked from the Archangel, "Is she alright?"

"She's calmed down a little and she's stopped crying for now," Kisaka replied on the main screen, "But her mind is all over the place at the moment." Meanwhile, all of the Mobile Suits had docked inside the Kusanagi's spacious hangar; the Astrays along the walls and the three Gundams lined up in a straight line in the center.

"Athrun!" Ryo called out when he spotted the bluenette pilot after exiting his Mobile Suit.

"Hey, Ryo," Athrun nodded and then looked to see Kira climbing out of the Freedom, "Come on, let's go." Ryo returned the nod and the three of them went into the ship to find a locker room. Moments later, they re-emerged wearing their uniforms, although Athrun had opted for a spare Morgenroete outfit that the crew had loaned him. "Do you think Cagalli's okay?" he asked as they floated down the corridors.

"Hard to say," Ryo shrugged, "I mean, she just lost her father and all. And I'm pretty sure that ORB's been overtaken by the Earth Forces by now."

"Ssh," Kira hissed, stopping outside a door, "I think this is her room…"

"You think?" Ryo asked, cocking an eyebrow, "Kira, you'd better be damn sure because the last time you thought you'd found someone's room…"

"What exactly happened?" Athrun asked, now a bit curious.

"He led me to a closet," Ryo scoffed, casting a glare at the brunette, "After that little incident, I never let him take me anywhere again."

"Hey, that was when we were still getting used to the Archangel's layout!" Kira argued, turning a bit red in the face.

"Kira, we've never set foot on this ship before," Ryo told him, "And even though it's similar to the Archangel, we don't know what's located where."

"Well, it's worth a shot," Kira said and then keyed the door speaker, "Cagalli? Can we come in?"

"Kira?" Cagalli's voice cracked over the speaker, "Yeah, s-sure…go ahead…" Kira glanced at the other two and they nodded; they could tell by Cagalli's tone that she was still rather upset over the past events. Without another word, he hit the switch and the door hissed open to let them in.

"Hey, Cagalli," Ryo greeted, "You feeling okay?" Ryo, of course, was only saying this in an attempt to lighten up the situation a bit. Cagalli's eyes were still a bit red from crying and she would wipe them with her hand every now and then to dry them.

"I've been better," Cagalli nodded, cracking a feeble smile, "But thanks for asking."

"Cagalli…" Athrun started, "I'm…we're really sorry for what happened…"

"It's alright," Cagalli replied, though a bit shakily, "I'm sure it was for the best and that my father…my father knew…" At this, she started to tremble again and Athrun instantly regretted bringing up the subject.

"It's okay, Cagalli," Ryo smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "We're all here for you." Kira and Athrun nodded in agreement and Cagalli smiled a bit before bursting into tears again. Kira reached out for her and she instinctively pressed her face against his chest. Ryo watched this with a smile but then noticed Athrun looking a bit dejected. "Don't worry, Athrun," Ryo whispered with a slight grin, "You'll get your chance." Athrun turned red and looked at the floor bashfully but didn't say anything otherwise.

-----------------------------

"But you know," Mu commented as he steered a small shuttle towards the Kusanagi, "The real troubles begin now."

"Yeah," Murrue nodded from the seat next to him. It was two days later and the two had left the Archangel to meet the Kisaka on the Kusanagi to not only discuss their future plans but also to get a look at the ship. After docking, they quickly went to meet him near the door of the hangar.

"Ah, there you are," Kisaka nodded when they approached him, "This way, please." With that, he turned and led them into the hallway while explaining the ship to them. "The Kusanagi was originally used as a communications ship between the mainland and Heliopolis," he said, "It's equipped with a Mobile Suit Application System and weapons, but not to the level of the Archangel."

"You divide the ship into five parts but only need the center?" Mu asked as they passed by the Astray trio, who waved at them, "That's pretty efficient. That way, you can just eject the parts you don't need, right?"

"That is correct," Kisaka nodded, "Ah, and there's the bridge now." The three entered the door and Murrue and Mu were both rather surprised by the design.

"Wow," Murrue blinked, "It's really similar to the Archangel's…"

"Actually…" Kisaka chuckled, "It's the Archangel that is similar to this ship. After all, both were developed by Morgenroete." Turning to an officer, he said, "Bring up a map of the area."

"Yes sir," the officer replied and the two Archangel officers looked up when they recognized the voice. When the officer turned around, they were surprised to see none other than…

"Erica Simmons?" Mu blinked.

"Hello yourself, Commander," Erica laughed before turning back to her work, "I'm up here because our pilots aren't used to handling the M1's in space. They'll have a pretty hard time without me." As she said this, a map appeared on the view-screen and everyone directed their attention towards it.

"This is where we are at the moment," Kisaka said, pointing to a red blip above the Earth, "As you know, PLANT is at L5 while Artemis was at L3."

"What about the colonies at L4?" Murrue asked.

"The Kusanagi and Archangel should have enough supplies at the moment, but…" Kisaka began, "They won't last forever. Our biggest concern will definitely be water." At this time, Cagalli had entered the bridge with Kira, Athrun, and Ryo following her. "The colonies at L4, however, have been inactive for years," Kisaka continued, "They were abandoned one by one and are now completely deserted. We should be able to salvage supplies from there."

"True," Murrue nodded and then added, "It's just like old times again…"

"Don't worry," Mu smiled, "This time it'll be different from Junius Seven."

"I've heard that there are actually still some active colonies at L4," Athrun suddenly said, catching everyone's attention, "It's never been confirmed, but there have been rumors of suspicious-looking people hiding out in the colonies."

"If that's the case, then there might be some colonies with working facilities," Ryo nodded, catching on, "But if there really are people there, we'll have no way of determining who's side they're on."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Kira replied before turning to the others, "So, I guess it's decided then, right?" Everyone nodded, although Kisaka looked a bit unsure.

"But are you sure you're okay with this?" Mu suddenly asked, "Not just you either, but your friend too."

"Commander?"

"I saw the fighting at ORB," Mu continued, "And it's not like I'm gonna get into loyalties or anything, but with everything that's been happening, we might eventually engage ZAFT forces as well."

"He's right," Ryo said, "The Archangel is still one of ZAFT's primary targets and if we run into them, they're bound to attack us. Are you gonna be okay with fighting them?"

"Your father…" Mu added, "Is Patrick Zala, isn't he?"

"It doesn't matter who is father is!" Cagalli argued, "Athrun is-!"

"A soldier switching sides is a lot more complicated than you think!" Mu interrupted, "And if his father is in the highest position of power, it'll create further problems! A war can't be fought if you don't believe in what your allies are fighting for, otherwise there'd be divided opinions within the ranks!"

"But…"

"And unlike Kira and Ryo, he's a former soldier of ZAFT!" Mu added and then turned to Athrun, "Look, I'm sorry for bringing this up, but you have to decide where you want to go. If you fight alongside us, then we'll fight alongside you, but we need an answer now." There was a slight pause as Athrun stared at the floor before looking back up.

"In ORB…no, even on PLANT and Earth, I've had a hard time making a lot of decisions based on what I've seen and heard," Athrun started, "Not knowing the answers to questions…not knowing if what I've discovered is true or not. Even now, I'm not really sure what to think." He paused again before continuing, "But…the world that I want to see is the same as yours. That's what I believe."

"That sounds good," Mu smiled and then said to Murrue, "He sure is different from Kira and Ryo."

"Yeah, well," Kira laughed and turned to Athrun, "He's always been like that."

"The last wishes left to us by ORB…" Ryo suddenly said, "They sound rather…grand."

"Yeah."

"In all honesty, it'll be impossible to fulfill them with only two warships, even if they house the most powerful machines ever built by man," Ryo added, "Do we really have a chance?" As he was saying this, Athrun glanced over at Cagalli and noticed her staring at him, causing the blonde to blush and look away.

"Let's believe in it," Kira nodded, "After all, a strong flame doesn't burn out no matter how small it is, right?"

"You stole that from the Captain," Ryo said, although he couldn't help but smile.

"There's a person up in PLANT who also believes in us," Athrun told them.

"Lacus?" Kira asked and Athrun nodded.

"You mean the pink-haired princess from a few months ago?" Mu blinked.

"Yeah, she's Athrun's fiancée," Kira nodded, not noticing Cagalli look up in surprise, "I'm sure she can help us out."

"I'm not too sure," Athrun sighed, "Right now, she's considered a fugitive."

"A fugitive? Lacus?" Ryo frowned, "That doesn't sound right. What did she do?"

"She's been accused of treason by my father," Athrun told him, "The entire Clyne residence has been taken apart looking for her. It's been like this ever since she gave you and Kira the Double X and Freedom."

"Lacus…" Kira muttered, "I hope she's okay…"

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"What is it that we were looking forward to? What is it that we wanted? Even now, our loved ones are dying on the battlefields. How much longer must we live in this time of sorrow?" Eight days later, all throughout the PLANTs, the voice of Lacus spoke to the people through the radios even as ZAFT soldiers rushed through the streets. They combed every spot they could reach, searching for broadcasting stations that she was using and dismantling them when they could. At the same time, Patrick Zala was also making his own announcement to the public.

"Please do not be swayed by the words of Lacus Clyne," he said, "She is a traitor who has allied herself with the Earth Forces and given away our top military secrets! None of us want to fight, but why has the situation turned out like this? I'd like all of you to think carefully about this; remember all of the atrocities that the Naturals have committed towards us Coordinators just because they were jealous of the abilities that they themselves created! The demands that they made about wanting the technology that we developed for their own personal greed! Remember the nuclear attack on Junius Seven just because we hesitated with their demands! No matter what, we must emerge victorious from this war, or we will face a future darker than our past!"

"We must understand that the people of Earth are our brothers and sisters, and that we Coordinators have not become some highly evolved species," Lacus added, "Even with the recent marriage restrictions, there are still children who will never be born even with our best efforts. What kind of highly evolved species are we if we can not even create our own futures?"

"Do not be deceived by words filled with ill intent. We are a separate race from the Naturals; we are the new humanity!" Patrick continued, "Even though there have been recent problems, our intelligence will solve all of those problems! I know that this is difficult, but we must continue fighting and look forward to a bright and shining future!" At that moment, an officer approached him and whispered something into his ear. "I see…" he nodded, "But the man's daughter is still very much alive. How much longer do you plan on letting her continue to broadcast this nonsense?"

"We're shutting down the circuits one by one, sir," the officer replied, "But it will still take some time."

"Let us all come together and find a way to bring a peaceful end to the war," Lacus said, "What is it that we want? What kind of happiness will we find if we have to sacrifice the lives of our loved ones in order to obtain it?"

-----------------------------

"Heh, it seems that the chairman is quite desperate to find Lacus Clyne," Rau smirked as he shut off the broadcast and stood up, "I wonder if that is why we received that return order…"

"But still, I can't believe it," Yzak frowned, "That she would be a traitor of all people…"

"As long as there are people like you, they will use and deceive you," Rau told him as he moved to leave the room, "It isn't good to feel this way, even for you. On the battlefield, the ideals of many individuals will clash against one another. 'What is it that we must be fighting against'? Do not be mistaken, Yzak."

-----------------------------

"Oh dear," Lacus sighed when she saw the signal on the speaker in front of her die out, "It looks like we'll have to move again."

"I'm very sorry," a man behind her said.

"It's quite alright," she smiled and got up, "Has there been any new information, Mr. Dacosta?"

"Victoria and ORB have both fallen to the Earth Forces," Dacosta told her, "The ORB Mass Driver was destroyed, but Victoria's has been captured."

"I heard that a great many ZAFT soldiers were deployed the Victoria," Lacus said.

"Yes," Dacosta nodded, "It seems that the Earth Forces is utilizing their new Mobile Suit forces much more frequently now."

"Is that so?" Lacus asked, "Then I suppose we'd better hurry as well." A few minutes later, she walked out wearing a pink coat with a hood drawn up to hide her face with Dacosta in front of her and her Haro bouncing along with them. Waiting for them in front of the door was a truck with several other people loading up radio equipment and keeping a look-out for ZAFT troops. Just then, Dacosta's phone rang and he quickly answered to keep it quiet.

"Yes?" he whispered and then added in an alarmed tone, "What?! Mr. Siegel has…?"

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"Well, I must say this is quite exceptional," Azrael mused as he glanced out of the window of his plane as it passed over the recently captured Victoria base, "You did well, General Sutherland." It had been two days since the Earth Forces had won the Third Battle of Victoria and emerged victorious, capturing not only the Victoria spaceport but also the Habilis Mass Driver.

"It was nothing," the officer shrugged, "It was all thanks to the outstanding performance of the Strike Daggers. Now, I've heard that you had a bit of trouble with ORB due to the…'unexpected units', correct?"

"Well, we still have a lot of work to do," Azrael replied, "But who would have thought that they could stand on equal ground with the Calamity, Raider, and Forbidden? They really are quite an odd country, ORB. What do you suppose they were thinking?"

"They were probably planning for a diplomatic solution and to count their losses. They're quite the cowardly nation," Sutherland said, "I know that they import a lot of technology from PLANT, so those three units could have come from ZAFT."

"Even so, we need to come up with another plan," Azrael frowned while the three Earth Forces Gundams stepped off of a carrier-plane, "Do you think we can capture them?"

"Possibly," Sutherland replied, "Are you going up to space personally?"

"Yes," Azrael nodded, "I have a hunch that those units were using…nuclear energy."

"_Nuclear?!_" Sutherland exclaimed.

"Now, I don't really have any proof," Azrael told him, "But the power those machines exhibited…it's impossible with conventional Mobile Suit batteries…"

"Well, the Coordinators did create the N-Jammer, so I'm sure they could have made something to counter its effects as well," Sutherland frowned, "But if that's the case, then we're in a lot of trouble."

"Now, now," Azrael laughed, "Are you doubting my abilities as the Director of the National Defense Industrial Alliance?"

"O-of course not!"

"After all, we are the weaker species," Azrael added as they boarded a shuttle, "And a beast with fangs should be kept in its cage…or at least on a leash."

"It will be difficult," Sutherland pointed out, "Now that they're roaming around freely in space."

"Well then," Azrael shrugged, "I guess I'll just have to go and subjugate them myself." Minutes later, the shuttle's thrusters ignited and the craft shot off of the Mass Driver, propelling itself into space.

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Meanwhile, the Archangel and the Kusanagi were already on their way towards the L4 colonies. Kira and Ryo, both dressed in their pilot suits, were in the hangar of the Kusanagi helping the other pilots recalibrate the Astray units for space combat. "Man," Mayura sighed as Ryo pointed out a few corrections she needed to make to hers, "Fighting in space is a lot more complicated than I thought."

"Well, that's 'cause out here, both gravity and friction are pretty much out of the equation," Ryo explained, "But don't worry about it, you'll get the hang of this after a few tries."

"I hope so," Mayura sighed, "I really don't want to get shot down out here."

"Yeah," Ryo thought to himself, "Dying in space is the worst…" Shortly after that, he said out loud, "Come on, don't be such a pessimist. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thanks," Mayura smiled and Ryo nodded before climbing out of the cockpit. Looking around, he spotted Kira giving directions to a pilot on a walkway and floated over to him as the pilot left.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, "Are we done here or what?"

"I'd say so," Kira nodded and turned to head inside, "These guys can probably handle things on their own now." Stepping into the door, Kira waited until it shut behind Ryo before pulling off his helmet and loosening the collar of his pilot suit.

"If that's the case, then I guess there's no real point in staying around," Ryo said, "Unless there's suddenly some big technical error that they need us to fix." Kira laughed at this before going into the viewing deck, where he saw Athrun leaning against the railing and staring out the window.

"Hey, Athrun," the brunette said, catching his friend's attention, "We're pretty much done here, so let's head back to the Archangel."

"What…?"

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter where we go," Ryo added after thinking a little, "I mean, they've got all these M1s here, but…" He trailed off when he noticed that Athrun had gone back to looking out the window and glanced at Kira, who glanced back.

"Um, Athrun?" Kira asked, causing the bluenette to look back up, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Athrun nodded, "Just thinking about some things…" At that moment, a door behind Athrun hissed opened and Cagalli floated in, grabbing onto a pole to stop herself.

"Kira," she said, "Um, do you have a second?" This caused a bit of confusion amongst the pilots as they glanced at each other.

"Um, well," Athrun smiled a bit sheepishly before turning to leave, "I…guess you want to talk in private, so…"

"No, wait!" Cagalli called out and to Athrun's surprise, she went over to him and took his arm, "I…I actually want you guys to hear this too." Saying that, she floated over to Kira and stopped in front of him.

"What is it, Cagalli?" Kira blinked but Cagalli suddenly found herself unable to speak, instead turning away from him.

"Cagalli?" Ryo asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Cagalli replied before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the photo. As she was handing it to Kira, however, she hesitated and looked back and forth between him and the picture in her hand before holding it out to him, "Here…"

"Oh, a photo?" Kira said, looking at it as Athrun and Ryo also came to look, "Who's it of?"

"Look on the back," Cagalli told him and Kira flipped the picture over to see his name scrawled on the back along with hers.

"Cagalli…" Kira muttered before looking up at her, "What…?"

"My father gave this to me before the Kusanagi launched," Cagalli continued, "He told me that I wouldn't be alone…that I'd be with my brothers!" As the three pilots gaped at this revelation, Cagalli took a breath to steady herself and then took hold of Athrun's sleeve. "Kira…" she said, "What does this all mean?"

"I…I don't know," Kira said, "I honestly don't know…"

"Well, we're not going to figure anything out by just staring at it," Ryo pointed out, taking the photo from Kira, "Now then, let's get a better look at this picture. What stands out about it?"

"Um…" Kira blinked, "Well, I think the children are twins."

"That sounds reasonable," Athrun agreed, "This photo was probably taken shortly after the birth."

"Okay, so we agree that they're twins," Ryo nodded, "What else?"

"Well, this might be a bit out of the blue, but…" Athrun said, "If you look at it a certain way, the mother kind of looks like an older version of Cagalli…"

"Say, I think you're right," Ryo frowned, "And the twins…they have the same hair color as Kira and Cagalli…" There was a pause before he added, "I…I think I may have an idea of what this picture is."

"Ryo?"

"Kira…you and Cagalli…" Ryo said, "I think that…you two are the twins in this photo."

"What?!" Kira exclaimed, "There's no way! You know that's not my mother!"

"I know," Ryo replied, "But, what about Cagalli…"

"No, I don't know the woman in the picture," Cagalli quickly told him, "I've never seen her before in my life…"

"Look, I'm just saying. There's no way to actually tell if I'm right or wrong," Ryo sighed before handing the photo back to Cagalli, "It's just...it's the only real explanation that I can see right now."

"But still, I just can't believe it!" Cagalli said, her eyes starting to sting, "Kira and I…brother and sister…"

"But, Lord Uzumi said that you had more than one," Athrun frowned, "If Kira really is your twin brother, then who's the other one?"

"Or maybe even others," Ryo mumbled, "Who said anything about there being just two?"

"Well, we're not gonna solve anything by worrying about now," Kira interrupted, "Look, Cagalli, I know that this is probably difficult for you, but…even if it is true, Lord Uzumi was still your father. And…if I had to have a twin sister, I don't think I'd ever ask for one other than you."

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At around this time, the two shuttles carrying Azrael and the three Biological CPUs had broken through the atmosphere and was in the process of ejecting their boosters. Once they had been fully detached, the shuttles' thrusters warmed up and then propelled the craft towards the Earth Forces base on the moon. On the pilots' shuttle, Clotho was furiously mashing on the buttons of his Wonder Swan while Orga sat two seats away from him reading a book. Shani was sitting in an isolated area and bobbing his head to the music that he was blasting into his ears, not paying any attention to the other two. Meanwhile, down on Earth, Rau le Creuset was preparing to leave for space with his own team at the Carpentaria Base. "It's been a while since you've seen your family, hasn't it, Yzak?" he asked as he stowed his suitcase in the overhead bin, "Why don't you go and visit them, let them know you're alright?"

"Yes sir, thank you," Yzak nodded and then looked at Flay, who was still standing in front of him, "What are you still standing around for? Sit down already!" Flay gave a start as if she had received an electric shock and quickly moved, only to find that the only vacant seat was next to Rau. After a moment's hesitation, she eased herself into the seat and Yzak muttered under his breath, "Hmph…stupid Natural…"

"There's no need to be frightened," Rau said to Flay when he noticed that she was glancing at Yzak nervously as he sat down in the opposite row, "You'll be safe as long as you're by my side. I will protect you, Flay, my dear." As he said this, Flay suddenly saw a flash of her father's face in place of Rau's and this was enough to calm her into relaxing in her seat and facing forward. Even as she did, Yzak narrowed his eyes suspiciously, having seen the whole exchange. Later, as the shuttle lifted off of the runway, however, he caught sight of Flay lean over and grab onto Rau's arm as the shuttle shook slightly. To his surprise, Rau actually gave her a small smile before sitting up in his chair again and facing forward as the shuttle shot into the sky. Up in space, Kira, Ryo and Athrun were preparing to leave the Kusanagi and return to the Archangel.

"Hey, Kira," Athrun suddenly said, "Don't you think…it would be better for you to stay here with Cagalli?"

"No," Kira replied, shaking his head, "She'll only get more stressed out if I'm around her too much. She needs some time to take all this in."

"I see," Athrun nodded and moments later, the three pilots guided their Gundams out of the hangar in single file as Cagalli watched from the viewing deck. As they started the trip back to the Archangel, however, the Justice suddenly moved up beside the Freedom and put a hand on its shoulder armor. "Kira, Ryo" Athrun said and Kira looked over along with Ryo, "When we get back to the Archangel…do you guys think you can help me get a shuttle?"

"Athrun?"

"I need to return to PLANT," Athrun told them, "I need to speak to my father personally and get an honest response from him."

"But…" Ryo frowned, "Athrun, then…"

"I know!" Athrun interrupted, "But…I just need to find out. He is my father and all…" There was a slight pause as Ryo and Kira looked at each other through the screens.

"Alright then," Kira nodded, "We'll help you."

"Kira?" Athrun blinked.

"Yeah, we might as well," Ryo smiled even as the Archangel's catapult hatch opened, "We'll ask Miss Murrue when we get back."

"…Thanks."

-----------------------------

"Second Transport Team, stand by for landing sequence. Team B, begin transport of materials to the Fifth Vessel Fleet immediately. The 22nd Transport Fleet is to remain on standby in orbit. The M11 Development Team will support the work at F-Pad. Our top priority at the moment is the maintenance on the Dominion." At the Earth Forces' Ptolemaeus lunar base, support teams were hurrying about transporting supplies and performing last minute inspections on a large ship in an isolated hangar. In appearance and performance, it was similar to the Archangel in every way. Its only main difference was that its armor was black instead of white and its sensor arrays were somewhat modified. Inside the base, a familiar figure had entered the command center and faced the commanding officer.

"Commander Natarle Badgiruel of the 7th Mobile Fleet," Natarle said, saluting the officer, "Awaiting your orders, sir." The officer nodded and stood up before addressing her.

"Commander Badgiruel," he said, "As of this moment, you will be place in charge of the second of the Archangel-class battleships, the Dominion. Your crew will be assigned to you shortly."

"Sir!" Natarle saluted and even as she left, thought to herself, "Well, Captain Ramius…it would seem that you predicted right…"

Phase 41- End

To the reviewers:

Ominae- I have no idea who Morgan Chevalier is.

Infinite Freedom- Ryo would not have used the Twin Satellite Cannons against the Earth Forces fleet, regardless if he was on Earth or in orbit. For one thing, the targeting computer is not powerful enough to actually pinpoint the fleet's location from such a distance and also, using the weapon would have killed every soldier on board the ships, which would have caused a lot of physical pain to Ryo. As for the other brother, it will eventually be revealed later on in the story.

Weasel Debater- Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.


	43. Lacus Strikes

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 42- Lacus Strikes

_June 30, C.E. 71, Space, Lagrange Point 4_

Two days after it had departed from Earth, the Archangel and Kusanagi were nearly at their destination. Without any hostile ships to slow them down, the journey had been relatively smooth and the two ships would be arriving at the nearest colony, Mendel, by tomorrow. Inside the Archangel, Athrun was floating over to the shuttle that would take him back to PLANT with Kira and Ryo by his side, all three wearing their pilot suits.

"If I don't return," Athrun said to Dearka, who was standing near the shuttle with Murdoch, "I want you to take the Justice."

"No way, that Mobile Suit is yours," Dearka replied, shaking his head, "Besides, the Buster's the only machine for me."

"Hey, wait!" a voice called out, "Athrun!" All heads turned to see Cagalli, who had just arrived from the Kusanagi, floating over to them, "What's this all about?!"

"Cagalli…"

"Athrun," Cagalli said, grabbing onto his shoulders, "Why are you going back to PLANT?"

"Look, Cagalli…" Athrun sighed, even as her momentum began pushing the two backwards, "I'm sorry, but…"

"Stop that! There's nothing to be sorry about!" Cagalli interrupted before glancing at the Justice, "If you leave that behind…"

"It's best if I left the Justice here," Athrun assured her, "If things get bad, Kira and Ryo will take care of it."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Cagalli, I need to go," Athrun told her as he bounced off of a wall, "I can't do anything at this point…"

"Cagalli," Kira said as he and Ryo floated over, "Let him go."

"But Kira…"

"It'll be okay," Ryo smiled, "Athrun...just needs to have a talk with someone."

"Ryo…"

"Don't worry," Athrun nodded, "I'll be careful."

"Alright," Cagalli sighed, letting go, "But you'd better come back in one piece." Athrun just smiled before moving to get into the shuttle. A few minutes later, the Archangel's port catapult opened and the shuttle flew out with Athrun at the controls.

"Miss Murrue," Kira said as closed the visor of his helmet, "Ryo and I are going out to make sure Athrun gets back safely."

"Alright," Murrue nodded from the bridge, "You two know where we'll be, right?"

"Don't worry about it," Ryo replied, "We'll find you eventually."

"Good luck then," Murrue smiled, "And be careful."

"We will," Kira nodded, "Kira Yamato, Freedom! Launching!"

"Ryo Mouri, Double X! Launching!" The two Mobile Suits were propelled out of the linear catapults, activating their Phase Shift Armor as they left the ship. As soon as they were clear, Ryo hit a switch and the G-Falcon detached from the Double X's body before reattaching in Mobile Armor mode. With that done, the two sped after Athrun's shuttle as the bridge crew watched them fade into the void of space.

-----------------------------

"Lacus Clyne is only being used as a puppet! We all understand the hope of wanting peace for everyone!" Ezalia Joule said on screens all throughout the PLANTs a day later, "That is why we wish to save her from the hands of the Naturals who are deceiving her! So please, to all of those who love her, we ask you to provide us with any information that you may have regarding her whereabouts!" As this was going on, Rau was sitting in a bar, disguised as a civilian wearing a brown coat and shades. A man on his right glanced at him before drawing a CD from his pocket and sliding it across the bar to him. Rau's eyes never left the screen but his hand took the CD and discreetly slipped it into his pocket before leaving the bar.

"That's correct; Creuset has returned with the new information," Patrick Zala nodded in his office while watching footage of the recent battle in ORB, "I don't know how the Freedom and Double X ended up in ORB. Athrun may have discovered something, but that fool never reports anything."

"Wasn't it assigned to him as a top-secret mission?" the person on the other line asked, "You ought to know that information is bound to leak from careless communication."

"Those arrogant Naturals are still coming up, one after the other," Patrick growled, "We need to make sure we completely wipe them out this time."

"Understood, I'll give it my best effort," the other man nodded, "Especially for the man who gave someone like me a second chance at life." Even as he hung up, he glanced at the photo of a young woman with long blue hair and orange highlights and heaved a deep sigh. Meanwhile, Yzak was on board the Vesalius overseeing the transfer of a new machine to the ship. It appeared to be a modified version of the Ginn but much sleeker and with improved weapons. It featured a pair of "Picus" guns on its head, a pair of extensional arrestors (similar to grappling hooks) on its side skirt armor, two beam claws mounted on its shield, and a single beam rifle. Although it was usually colored moss-green, this unit was painted white for Rau as his custom unit.

"So, this is the new unit, huh?" Yzak asked, "The ZGMF-600 GuAIZ."

"Yep," the technician working on it nodded, "Fresh from the MMI factories and soon, they'll be replacing the Ginns since they're being deployed more often now. Yes sir, we'll be able to wipe out every last Natural with these sooner or later." At this comment, Yzak's eyes narrowed even as the technician added, "But, I guess I'll leave that to you…?" As he turned, he caught sight of Yzak leaving but what he didn't see was the fresh scowl on his face. Meanwhile, Rau was sitting in his office with Flay standing nearby and had just finished downing a glass of water to wash down his medication. He set the empty glass onto a tray with a pitcher on it, which Flay picked up to take out of the room. As she started to leave, however, she glanced at him and saw him take a CD out of his desk before inserting it into a portable drive. When she left, the screen in front of Rau lit up to show the schematics of the Freedom and Justice and eventually, displayed the layouts of their most valued components.

"N-Jammer Cancellers?" he thought, "How very interesting…" At around this time, the sun was beginning to set and Martin Dacosta was hurrying up a flight of emergency stairs outside of an apartment. Before he reached the door, however, a man opened it from the inside to let him in and glanced around to make sure no one was around before shutting it. Inside, Lacus' pink Haro bounced around and chirped its robotic greeting to him as the girl herself stood up.

"Mr. Dacosta," Lacus smiled, "How are things going in the city?"

"Not good," Dacosta sighed, "Thanks to Ezalia Joules' speech, the citizens are in a state of chaos. The news about Mr. Siegel hasn't been announced yet either."

"Dammit! Haro!" Haro chirped, spinning around on its bottom on a table.

"Then…"

"It's a bit sooner than planned, but…" Dacosta said, "I believe that we have to start acting immediately."

"I understand," Lacus nodded, "It's time for us to go now…"

"Haro!" Haro buzzed, "I won't accept that!"

-----------------------------

"Kira, Ryo," Athrun said from his shuttle, "We'll be entering Jachin Due's Defense Network soon. You two had better go back now." At the moment, the Freedom was connected to the shuttle by a long cable protruding from its beam rifle. The Double X was flying along the shuttle's opposite side in Mobile Armor mode, with Ryo keeping a lookout for hostile movement.

"Alright then," Kira nodded, "Ryo and I will stay here and wait for you."

"No," Athrun told him, "You guys go back to L4. I'll be fine."

"Athrun," Kira said after a slight pause, "It's not your time to die. You know that, right?"

"Kira…"

"It's not time for any of us to die," Kira added, "Not yet." Athrun paused and thought back to Nicol, Lacus, and Cagalli. Thinking about her reminded him of the amulet that she had given him back on Earth and he reached up to touch it through his pilot suit.

"Alright," Athrun nodded, "I'll remember that."

"Athrun," Ryo said as the Freedom retracted the cable and used its fore-thrusters to stop, "If you don't come back, Cagalli's gonna kill you!"

"Yeah," Athrun laughed, feeling a bit better, "I'll remember that too." With that, he stepped on the accelerator and the shuttle began to move away as he watched the Freedom and Double X grow smaller on his screen. After another fifteen minutes, he spotted the massive space fortress Jachin Due, which used to be a resource asteroid like its companion fortress Boaz. These two structures were the last line of defense between outside threats and the PLANT homeland and were appropriately named after the pillars of Solomon's temple. "This is Athrun Zala of Special Forces reporting directly to the National Defense Committee, ID Number 285002" Athrun announced into his speakers, "Come in, Jachin Due Defense Force." As Athrun made his approach, his father Patrick was sitting in his office staring at the blueprints of a large structure on his personal monitor. All of a sudden, his intercom rang and he reached over to answer it.

"What is it?"

"Special Forces member Athrun Zala has docked at Jachin Due in what appears to be an Earth Forces shuttle."

"What's that?!" Patrick exclaimed, "An _Earth Forces_ shuttle?!"

"Yes sir," the secretary replied, "I'll dispatch some guards because of the situation, but…"

"Send him up here right away!" Patrick interrupted. Meanwhile, Athrun had gotten out of his pilot suit and was now accompanied by two armed guards, one of which was signing in to the front desk. As soon as he was finished, he and his companion led Athrun through the hallways before stopping in front of Patrick's office.

"Excuse us," he announced before opening the door and all three of them saluted him.

"Athrun…"

"Father…" Athrun replied softly as he lowered his hand.

"You two, leave us for now," Patrick ordered.

"Yes sir!" the guard nodded and both saluted again before leaving, closing the door behind them.

"What's going on here? What happened?!" Patrick frowned as Athrun approached his desk, "Where's the Justice?! And what happened to the Freedom and Double X?!"

"First things first, there are some questions that I'd like to ask you, father" Athrun replied, "What are your intentions regarding this war?"

"What did you say?!"

"I'm asking you how much longer we have to keep fighting like this."

"What does that matter?!" Patrick growled, pounding his fist on to his desk, "What's important right now is the mission that you were assigned! Now make your report!"

"Father," Athrun said calmly, "I came back so that I could hear your honest answer."

"Athrun…" Patrick seethed, "You little…"

-----------------------------

"Miss Lacus!" one of Lacus' attendants called out, "You'd better take a look at this!" Lacus quickly walked over to him as he turned his laptop towards her so that she could see the screen.

"My, we can't have that, now can we?" Lacus blinked before turning to Dacosta, "Is there anything that we can do?"

"Well…"

-----------------------------

"Enough of this foolishness!" Patrick shouted, standing up, "What right do you have to say things like that when you don't understand anything?!"

"I think that you're the one who doesn't understand anything, father!" Athrun frowned, staying in his spot, "Alaska, Panama, Victoria! Don't you see, father? We got attacked because we attacked them, and then we attack because they attacked us! If this keeps going, it'll get to the point where this war will get completely out of hand!"

"Where did you get such ridiculous ideas?!" Patrick demanded, having moved so that he was directly in front of Athrun, "Did Lacus Clyne fill your head with lies too?!"

"Father," Athrun said, "Do you really believe that this war will end if you just keep retaliating with greater force every time they attack us?"

"This war will end, Athrun," Patrick replied through gritted teeth, "When every last Natural is dead!" As Athrun's eyes widened, Patrick grabbed him by the collar and added, "Now tell me, where are our machines! And answer wisely, because I do not forgive easily!"

"Are you serious father?" Athrun gaped, ignoring his last comment, "Your goal is to just wipe out the Naturals?"

"That's the whole point of this war! That's what everyone has been fighting for!" Patrick shouted, "Have you completely forgotten that?!" With that, he suddenly shoved Athrun back with such force that he landed on his back and for a few seconds, stared at the ceiling trying to piece his dazed mind back together. During the fall, his uniform jacket had opened up slightly and the amulet Cagalli had given to him had slipped out and was now in plain sight. As he struggled to sit up, Patrick moved behind his desk and opened a drawer before stepping back in front of Athrun. Rubbing his head, Athrun started to look up at his father before he heard the familiar clack of a gun being loaded. Turning his head, he saw his father standing before him slowly bringing up a handgun.

"A gun, father?" Athrun asked, "Against your own son?"

"This is your last chance, Athrun," Patrick said, "If you don't tell me where those three Mobile Suits are, I won't hesitate to have you arrested!" Athrun stayed silent but all of a sudden, Patrick's bitter expression transformed into a face that was almost pleading. In fact, the change was so drastic that Athrun had to blink a few times to make sure that the man before him really was his father. "I do not want to go through with this, Athrun," Patrick told him in an almost gentle tone, "I'm asking you, not as your superior but as your father, to tell me the truth."

"Father…" Athrun muttered, unable to believe his eyes. For the first time in nearly a year, he was seeing his father as the man that he used to be before the war started and as Athrun looked closer, he could see just how tired and worn he was from everything.

"Athrun…losing your mother was already painful enough for me," Patrick whispered, "Please, don't make me do this…" Athrun was overwhelmed with conflicting feelings. On one hand, he wanted to help his father and perform his duties as a son. But on the other, he knew that he could never betray the others, for that would mean throwing away the future that he had wanted to see. With these thoughts in mind, he made his decision and remained defiantly still. Seeing this, Patrick realized that there was no use in trying to talk to him and sighed heavily, "I see…then if that is your answer, you leave me with no other choice…" As he said this, he reached for his desk, still pointing the gun at Athrun, and hit a switch. Instantly, the door hissed open and several armed guards stormed into the room, surrounding Athrun and aiming their assault rifles at him. When Athrun looked back at his father, he saw that his face at returned to its hard look and understood. As the leader of the ZAFT forces, his father couldn't afford to show weakness in front of his troops.

"Killing all the Naturals is victory?" he thought and shut his eyes, clenching his fist, "Cagalli…"

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"…_the PLANTs believe that the Coordinators are some kind of newly evolved species, for Patrick Zala leads them now. From the way things are heading now, the world will be trapped between two armed camps that refuse to accept each other's existence…"_

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"Athrun!" Patrick shouted, jolting the bluenette from his thoughts. All of a sudden, a burst of emotion inside him caused him to leap to his feet and run straight at his father, ignoring the guards waiting for an order to fire.

"Father!" he shouted, "You-!" He was suddenly cut off by a gunshot and a searing pain in his right shoulder as the impact of the bullet knocked him onto his back.

"Don't shoot!" Patrick ordered as Athrun gripped his wounded shoulder, his sleeve soaked with blood, "He still has some answers that I want!"

"Sir!"

"Take him away," he added as two guards pulled Athrun to his feet and placed steel cuffs on his wrists, "Force him to give up the location of the Justice, Freedom and Double X. Use whatever means of persuasion you find necessary." As Athrun was led away, however, he added, "I'm very disappointed, Athrun." The guards paused at this but Athrun could have sworn that he detected a bit of remorse in his voice. Nevertheless, he had made up his mind and had no intention of giving in.

"Same here…" he muttered before being led out the door, where a few spectators had gathered to see what was going on. As he was led outside, he remembered Kira's words about it not being his time to die and as he thought about this, a single officer watching from a balcony slipped off. Meanwhile, Rau was leaving his quarters on board the Vesalius while Flay stayed behind to put a tea-pot and cup on a tray. As the door closed, however, she looked to make sure he was gone before setting the tray back on the desk and opening a drawer. Reaching inside, she pulled out a small bottle containing Rau's medication.

"What does he need these for?" she thought to herself before putting them back and closing the drawer, "Well…I guess I shouldn't get too curious here…"

-----------------------------

"I'll send out some M1s on reconnaissance," Kisaka said to Murrue from the Kusanagi, "There shouldn't be anyone here, but it won't hurt to be on the look-out."

"Understood," Murrue nodded, "All hands, proceed to Level Two battle stations!" As this was happening, Athrun had been led out of the building and was now behind a van surrounded by guards. The doors on the back were open and Athrun could see two men in suits waiting inside.

"Get in," one of the guards said but when Athrun didn't comply, he added, "Come on!" All of a sudden, Athrun bent down and launched a kick into the guard's stomach before shoulder-checking the other into a wall. With both guards knocked out, he started to run but one of the guards near the van quickly raised his assault rifle.

"Stop!" he shouted but suddenly, the guard next to him turned and slammed the butt of his own assault rifle into his face.

"Dammit!" the other guard swore as he ran after Athrun before turning to shoot at the guards, "I didn't think we'd leave like this!"

"Hold it!" one of the men in suits called out as they raised their handguns but the guard had thrown a flare, which let off a blinding flash to distract them as they kept running before he tossed another one.

"This way!" he said before leading Athrun into an alley, where Athrun collapsed against the wall panting heavily. "Turn around, please," he told him, "I'll shoot off your handcuffs." Athrun complied, shifting his position and a gunshot later, he felt the cuffs drop off of his hands and he rubbed his wrists as the guard added, "You're really reckless, you know that?"

"So are you."

"Were you trying to get killed," the guard continued, handing Athrun a handgun with an extended clip, "You even knocked out one of our guys."

"Wait…" Athrun frowned, "Who…?"

"I'm from the Clyne Faction," the guard told him, "Man, our plans really aren't going as we thought they would."

"Sorry," Athrun said a bit sheepishly as he got up, "I didn't know."

"Well, that's understandable," the guard sighed even as another one came running towards them.

"Dacosta!" the other guard shouted as he fired at the pursuers, "We have to hurry!"

"Right," Dacosta nodded, "Let's go!" As he and Athrun stepped out of their hiding place and started shooting, the Clyne Faction was putting the last pieces of their plan into motion. In a dark hangar, a large ship was secretly undergoing last-minute preparations to launch. It was unlike any ship ever seen before, at 300 meters long, it had only a single beam cannon but was coated with CIW guns and missile launchers, as well as two turrets on both sides of its prow. Its bridge somewhat resembled the head of a Ginn and it had a pod-like extension on both sides, each one with three wings extending outward. With a sleek design and a total of six main engines, it was clear that this ship was built for speed. Its most noticeable feature, however, was its color, since it was oddly enough, painted a shocking pink. On its bridge, a familiar face was sitting in the seat just below the commander's chair, reaching for a phone on the armrest.

"Well then, let's get started," he said and held the phone up to his ear, the little light revealing a two-pronged scar stretching down the left side of his face and across his eye, as well as a hair style similar to a lion's mane, "Um, this ship will be entering its final preparations, alright? Repeat, this ship will be entering its final preparations. Get to work, everyone." All over the ship, confused crew members glanced at each other, only to come face-to-face with gunbarrels as several of them suddenly drew their weapons.

"Wait…"

"You…!" Several minutes later, startled crewmen were ushered out of the ship as the others took their stations.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Shut up and get off of the ship." Meanwhile, Lacus and several attendants were inside of an elevator as it shot through the colony's interior.

"No can do!" Haro exclaimed, hopping up and down on Lacus' lap.

"Shh…" Lacus said, putting a finger to her lips, "Quiet, now, Mr. Pink." As the Haro fell silent, Patrick Zala had just received word of the incident outside and was beyond himself with anger.

"What do you mean he's escaped?!" he shouted, "Send out a search announcement throughout the entire colony and notify the port guards! We mustn't let him escape!" Even as he raged on, a small two-seater shuttle flew towards the ports, with Dacosta at the controls and Athrun seated behind him, the latter now having his arm in a sling.

"Come on…" Dacosta muttered, "We have to hurry." While the two rushed to their destination, the man on board the new ship was checking an antique pocket-watch when he heard the door to the bridge hiss open.

"Sorry for the delay," someone said and he turned to see Lacus enter the bridge. She had changed her appearance a bit, her pink hair was now tied back into a ponytail and she was wearing a white sleeveless overcoat with gold-colored trimming over a pink oriental dress with purple lining.

"Not a problem," the man grinned, "Just as long as you made it safely. Shall we go now?"

"Yes," Lacus nodded and as her Haro floated around the bridge, the officers began their final preparations to leave.

"Departure route, C-4. Forced subroutine 1920, online! Logic-aide added, security purge confirmed! All systems green!"

"What are you doing?! Your ships hasn't received any orders to launch!" one of the port controllers shouted as the ship's engines warmed up, "What's going on?! Commander, come in!" When there was no response, he quickly hit a few switches on his dashboard.

"The code for the main gate's control system has just been changed!" the ship's pilot said.

"Well, they're pretty clever," the man nodded, "Although they would have been better off just letting us go. Now our exit is gonna be a bit messier, so get ready."

"It can't be helped," Lacus smiled, "We don't have any other choice but to go."

"Right," the man replied before facing forward again, "Ready main cannon! Target the gate and fire the moment we lift off!"

"Readying main cannon! Targeting the main gate!" At this, the man turned around and nodded at Lacus, who nodded in return.

"Eternal!" she said, "Please go ahead and launch!" At her words, the ship known as the Eternal ignited its engines and began moving, closing in on the gate.

"Eternal, what are you doing?! Stop your engines! Sound the alarm at headquarters!"

"Fire!" the man ordered and the Eternal's single cannon let loose a burst of green energy, blowing apart the gate and letting the ship slip out, "Where's Dacosta?" The man in question was flying the shuttle through a long shaft, where he was confronted by three support pods that opened fire on the shuttle. With a bit of skill and luck, he managed to maneuver the shuttle around them and out into space, where they were greeted by the sight of the Eternal.

"Commander!" Dacosta called out the shuttle passed in front of it.

"Get in through the rear hatch, Dacosta!" the man said, "Once he's secure, give full power to the engines. This ship is pretty fast, we should be able to lose them." As this was going on, Rau had just been informed of the incident and he was seemed to be rather surprised.

"Is that so?" he asked, "The Eternal and Athrun have both gone missing?"

"Yes," Ades nodded, "We've been issued an order to retrieve them both."

"Even the Vesalius won't be able to catch up to that ship at that velocity," Rau said, "All we can do is leave it to the Jachin Due Defense Force."

"Sir."

"But I have to say," Rau thought as a small smile crossed his face, "That ship is quite a masterpiece, Chairman Zala." Outside, two Ginns were patrolling the area when all of the sudden, the Eternal appeared and barreled right past them. Coincidentally, these were the same two Ginns that had tried to chase after the Freedom and Double X when they were stolen but now, the pilots knew better than to try and catch up with something moving that fast. However, that didn't stop them from staring in awe at the sheer speed of the ship. Inside the Eternal, Dacosta and Athrun had reached the bridge and entered, catching the attention of everyone inside.

"Athrun!" Lacus smiled and got out of her seat to float over to him, "Are you alright?"

"Lacus?" Athrun blinked, "What…?"

"Hey there!" the man in front smiled, "Welcome to the ship of the Songstress. I'm Andrew Waltfield." As Athrun stared at the man known as the Desert Tiger, squadrons of Ginns were moving out from Jachin Due, each equipped with D-Equipment or a heavy bazooka. At the same time, the Freedom and Double X were hiding out behind a large rock when their sensors began reacting to the presence of the Ginns.

"This…" Kira blinked.

"Kira, I'm gonna go check this out," Ryo suddenly said, guiding the Double X from behind the rock, "You stay back unless there's trouble!"

"Wait, Ryo!" Kira called out but Ryo had already gunned the Double X's thrusters and the Mobile Armor sped away from him.

"Incoming Mobile Suits detected! At least fifty of them, sir!"

"Jachin Due's forces, huh?" Waltfield sighed, "Well, I guess it's only appropriate. Ready the main cannon and the CIWs!"

"What about Mobile Suits?" Athrun asked, "Aren't there any on this ship?"

"Well, they're kind of out at the moment," Waltfield replied, "This ship was designed to carry the Freedom, Justice, and that other unit that I don't know a whole lot about."

"The Double X?"

"Sure, if that's what it's called," Waltfield shrugged.

"Commander," Lacus suddenly said, "Please open up all communications channels. I'll try and get them to leave."

"Lacus…"

"Alright then, miss," Waltfield nodded and after a flipping a few switches, Lacus was on the air.

"My name is Lacus Clyne," she began, "I've become an enemy of Chairman Zala because of the differences in our ideas of the future. However, please know that I have no wish to fight you." As several of the pilots hesitated, she continued, "Please allow our ship to leave. And also, I would like for you all to reconsider what it is that we should really be fighting against."

"Commander!" one of the Ginn pilots said, "What should we do?"

"Don't listen to her!" the Commander replied, "We have our orders to capture them!"

"Well, at least you tried," Waltfield sighed as the radar began to show incoming missiles, "Commence interception!" At his command, every one of the Eternal's missile launchers opened up and released their payloads, shooting down every single one.

"Please try not to hit their cockpits," Lacus requested as the Ginns began accelerating, "Our main objective is to escape from here."

"That's gonna be pretty tough, but we'll try," Waltfield nodded, "Fire main cannon!" The Eternal's cannon leveled itself before firing two bursts into the cluster of Ginns, taking a few out.

"Six Ginns closing on Blue Alpha Five and Charlie Seven!" an officer warned as the Ginns began to spread out.

"Here they come!" Waltfield shouted, "Intercept them!" Outside, the Eternal's CIW guns began firing at the Ginns as they swooped over its hull, firing missiles and bazooka rounds alike at the ship all around it.

"Six more Ginns approaching from Blue Delta Twelve!" the officer said, "Missiles approaching from all directions!" As the Eternal countered with its own missiles, the Double X got within visual range and Ryo blinked as he saw what was happening.

"What do we have here?" he wondered out loud before saying into his radio, "Hey, Kira, you might want to check this out."

"What is it?"

"I dunno, it looks like a whole bunch of Ginns are shooting at this really weird pink ship," Ryo said, "But whatever's going on, it must be serious. Most of those Ginns are packing D-Equipment." Kira cringed at the mention of the weapons, remembering the last time he had seen them used.

"Alright, I'm on my way," Kira nodded, "See if you can distract them."

"We can't intercept them all!" the officer exclaimed, "The rest of them are gonna hit us!" Just as everyone on the bridge braced for impact, a volley of missiles appeared from no where and destroyed a majority of the others before a pair of scattered beam shots finished off the rest. Puzzled, all heads turned to see the Double X approaching from a distance before the G-Falcon detached itself, reassembling as an armor booster. Moments later, the Freedom appeared as well, joining the Double X as they shot down more missiles with their beam rifles.

"Kira?" Athrun blinked, "Ryo!" At that moment, one missile was destroyed so close to the Eternal that the shockwave shook the ship, knocking Lacus out of her seat. Athrun quickly moved to catch her but winced as she fell against his wounded shoulder.

"Thank you, Athrun," Lacus smiled before returning back to her seat. Outside, the Freedom and Double X had chased down and destroyed the remaining missiles before turning to face the incoming Ginns. Kira and Ryo quickly activated their multi-targeting computers and locked on to as many as they could before deploying every weapon that the Freedom and Double X had and firing. Explosions lit up the dark void of space but when they died down, not a single Ginn had been destroyed but it was safe to say that none of them were in any condition for combat. With the pursuit team out of the picture, the Eternal was now able to speed away from the Jachin Due parameter, with the Freedom and Double X close by.

"This is Kira Yamato on the Freedom," Kira said, "Unidentified ship, can you hear me?"

"Kira!" Lacus called out and before long, two screens appeared with Kira and Ryo looking back at them.

"Is that Lacus?" Kira blinked.

"And Athrun too!" Ryo added, "What a coincidence!"

"Hey there, you two!" Waltfield called out, "You just saved our sorry asses!"

"Mr…Waltfield?" Kira gaped, "But…how…?"

"I'll explain later," Waltfield shrugged, "Come on aboard! We'll take ya where ever you need to go!"

"Actually…" Ryo said, "We know this great place for you guys to hide out. We'll point it out to you."

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Two days later, the Eternal had arrived at the Mendel Space Colony to join the Archangel and Kusanagi. Several M1s patrolled the area, supervised by Mu in the Strike, as the Eternal backed into the hangar and finally came to a stop beside the Kusanagi, which was behind the Archangel. A few minutes later, the Eternal's entire crew had gone to the latter ship to meet with Murrue, who was a bit surprised to see who it was.

"I guess it'd be a bit awkward introducing myself," Waltfield grinned sheepishly, "I'm Andrew Waltfield."

"Murrue Ramius," Murrue nodded and offered him a quick salute, "But I have to say, this is quite a surprise."

"That makes a few of us," Waltfield smiled before turning to Kira and Ryo, "Right, you two?"

"You…" Kira sighed, standing next to Lacus, "You really have a reason to feel hostile towards me…"

"Well, that's war to you," Waltfield shrugged, "Everyone's got a reason."

"I guess…" Kira said and Lacus gave him an assuring nod. Later, as everyone split up to do whatever, Ryo and Athrun went to see Cagalli, who was now fretting over Athrun's injury.

"Ugh, you are _always_ getting hurt," she sighed, looking at his arm in its sling, "I swear, can't you do _anything_ without getting into trouble?"

"Well…" Athrun chuckled sheepishly, "Your amulet protected me this time."

"Did it really?" Cagalli smiled, "Well, that's good to know."

"Yeah," Athrun nodded before turning to Ryo, "Say, thanks for lending me this spare uniform. Where did you get this, anyway?"

"Lacus gave one to Kira and I before we got our Mobile Suits," Ryo explained, "I just kept mine for the hell of it but I guess it came in pretty handy this time."

"Yeah," Athrun said, "It's a little big in the shoulders, but it'll do until mine gets stitched up and washed."

"Tell me about it," Ryo grinned, "That was a lot of blood on your sleeve. What happened, anyway?"

"Let's just say…" Athrun sighed, "That talk I had with my father didn't go so well…" Neither Ryo or Cagalli spoke, realizing that this wasn't something that he wanted to talk about.

"Still, who would've thought that you'd come back with a whole battleship?" Cagalli asked, changing the subject as she leaned closer to the window to admire the Eternal, "She really is amazing, Lacus."

"Yeah," Athrun nodded, "She is." Cagalli smiled before looking over and from her viewpoint, she could see Kira chatting with Lacus and it looked like they were having a good time.

"Hey, is this really okay?" she asked, jerking her thumb towards the two and causing Athrun and Ryo to look, "I mean, she's your fiancée, isn't she?"

"Well…" Athrun said, "Ex-fiancée."

"Ex?" Ryo blinked, "When did that happen?"

"Ah, you know," Athrun shrugged, "My father didn't really think it would be good for me to be engaged with a fugitive, so…"

"Ooh," Ryo nodded, "That kind of sucks."

"I guess," Athrun sighed and then added, "I'm…such an idiot…"

"Well, at least your realizing that now," Cagalli teased and then went back to watching Kira and Lacus, "But you know what? I think Kira's an idiot too."

"Well for an idiot," Ryo said, "He sure is impressing Lacus."

"Well I think all Coordinators are idiots!" Cagalli replied, "It's something that can't be helped."

"Hey!" Ryo exclaimed, "You're not exactly genius material yourself!" As the two started to argue, they didn't notice as Lacus' face suddenly fell and Kira blinked in concern before asking what was wrong.

"My father…" Lacus whispered, a tear streaking down her cheek, "He's…he's dead, Kira…"

"Lacus…" Kira said and tentatively put a hand on her arm. To his surprise, Lacus leaned in and buried her face into his chest, causing Kira's mind to draw a temporary blank. In a moment, though, he collected his thoughts and put his arms around her, forgetting everything else.

Phase 42- End

To the reviewers:

Ken Wise- Yes, I know.

Weasel Debater- Thanks, it's good to be back.

Ominae- Thanks for the tip.

Infinite Freedom- Actually, I'm still on summer break where I live. Anyway, a RyoxTiffa pairing probably won't be surfacing for quite a while. Also, the TSC will be used again but I can't exactly tell you how.

Author's Note: Now that I'm in the final stretch of the story, I'll try to update as often as I can. If I'm lucky, this story will be finished before 2008.


	44. What Stands in the Way

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 43- What Stands in the Way

_July 3, C.E. 71, Ptolemaeus lunar base, Moon surface_

"Horn Blower will standby at the Seventh Orbit. Stalin, Mailer, and Marquis move to the Second Orbit. Seventh Service Squad, please join up at 3.7 acceleration speed."

"The Fourth Supply Team is arriving ten seconds later than expected."

"Magnum, please raise your orbit. The 51st Combat Division will be lifting off soon." As preparations were made at the lunar base, Natarle was taking her new crew and the Dominion for a battle simulation.

"Heat source detected! Distance is 500 at Orange 14, Mark 233 Alpha!"

"A large object is approaching! Presumed to a battleship!"

"All hands and Mobile Suits prepare for battle!" Natarle ordered, "Decrease starboard ten degrees and bow fifteen degrees! Activate Igelstellung and aim the Valiants at the enemy ship! Load missile tubes one through four with Korinthos missiles! Fire Valiants!" Although her instructions were clear, the officers in the CIC were struggling to comprehend the controls. A few moments later, the simulation ended with the Dominion being destroyed and the mission failed. "What are you hesitating for?! You're all reacting too late!" Natarle shouted, "If you keep acting like this, we'll get shot down in our first battle! Do you understand?!"

"Captain," the communications officer suddenly said, "There's an incoming message from Fleet Headquarters." As Natarle calmed down, a shuttle approached the Dominion, flanked by the three Alliance Gundams and several Strike Daggers. After a few minutes, the door to the bridge opened to let in Natarle's commanding officer and Azrael.

"I apologize for the interruption," the Commander nodded, "I'm sure you're hard at work training at the moment."

"No, it's fine, sir," Natarle replied, saluting him.

"This is the Director of the National Defense Industrial Alliance, Muruta Azrael," the Commander told her, gesturing to Azrael as he looked around the bridge, "I'm sure you've heard of him."

"Yes sir."

"He will be accompanying you to monitor the three GAT-X models that are being assigned to your ship," he added, "Please take care of him."

"Well," Azrael smiled, "Nice to meet you, Miss Captain."

"Sir," Natarle saluted, "I am Commander Natarle Badgiruel. But…"

"But who would've thought that my Captain would be such a pretty young woman?" Azrael added, leaning closer to her to get a better look at her face, "So these are the perks, huh?"

"She's a very capable officer," the Commander told him, "After all, she does come from a traditional military family."

"Oh?"

"Well, that's…"

"Furthermore, she was once the Executive Officer of the Archangel."

"Really? And now she's gone solo, huh?" Azrael nodded as the three Biological CPUs entered the bridge, still in their pilot suits, "Well, I'll be looking forward to this…especially since our new assignment is to destroy the renegade Archangel…"

"Captain Ramius…" Natarle thought as she suppressed a gasp of shock, "Has it really come down to this?"

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"This is the predicted course of the Eternal, as calculated by the data from Jachin Due's pursuit team." It was four days later and the Creuset Team had departed on its mission to locate the Eternal and were currently looking over a map of the area.

"The L4 cluster?" Ades frowned, "It's just as I thought…the situation has certainly become odd. Suspicious personnel have made it their base of operations before, and now it's being used like this…"

"I doubt that the Clyne Faction's plan is that big, but…" Rau mused, "Even the military seems to be rather divided at the moment. Don't you have the feeling that something big is about to happen?"

"I had a chance to speak with Commander Waltfield before the incident," Ades said, "But I never would have suspected that he would do something like that…"

"Well, he has quite a way with words," Rau said, "Even the Chairman fell for it sitting down."

"Now we've been ordered to chase them down…"

"I suppose it can't be helped, the world was never something that always followed what people believed in," Rau shrugged as Flay glanced at him, "And the treachery in a person is very hard to detect. Yzak." When the fair-head was focused on him, he continued, "From now on, Athrun is your enemy. Can you shoot at him?" Yzak hesitated but when he realized that everyone was looking at him, he quickly put on a straight face.

"Yes sir!" Yzak nodded, "I can shoot at a traitor…" Later, Rau returned to his quarters with Flay close behind him before collapsing into his seat with a sigh.

"You seem tired," Flay muttered.

"I am only human, Flay, and I have lived my life going from one battlefield to the next," Rau told her, "I could always just say that it's because I'm a soldier, but…it's not as if we were born as them…" After a brief paused, he added, "I…would very much like to end this war as soon as possible. Don't you feel the same?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"I have finally found the key to ending this war, but…the door can't be opened if the key is still here," Rau said, taking out the same CD and letting it float in front of his face, "I do hope to open that door soon…"

-----------------------------

"Wasn't this the colony that was abandoned during the biohazard during the war?"

"Yeah," Mu nodded to Waltfield as they headed to the bridge of the Archangel, "Even I remember what happened here at Mendel. It sure stirred up quite a bit of panic…but now because of that, most of the colony is undamaged. Sure does make a good hide-out."

"You said it," Waltfield laughed before the two entered the bridge to find everyone else there.

"Our biggest concern right now is probably the Moon," Lacus said as Mu floated over to Murrue, "I've heard that the Earth Forces has been sending up troops, Mobile Suits, and supplies en masse from Victoria."

"Do you think they're preparing for an all-out assault on the PLANT?" Murrue asked.

"Well, they're a bunch of folks who've been itching for a fight for a while," Waltfield said, "For the preservation of their blue and pure world, as they say."

"Cut that out," Mu frowned.

"Hey, I didn't make that phrase up," Waltfield shrugged, although it was a bit awkward because his left arm was missing and the sleeve buttoned together.

"Well…I guess you've got a point," Mu said.

"I wonder though," Waltfield pondered, "How will killing the Coordinators make the world blue and pure? I mean, I don't know what a blue and pure world would be like myself, but…"

"Oh, don't start with that," Ryo groaned, "This is exactly what you said about Evidence O1!"

"I'm just saying, I'm sure the PLANTs wouldn't want to get attacked because of a reason like that!" Waltfield said defensively, "But now, even the guys in charge there have decided that Naturals as the 'inferior species'. I'm sure they'd counterattack, if only to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. Kind of makes me wonder how long this is gonna go on." As the two argued, Cagalli suddenly left the bridge, although only Kira noticed her slipping into the lift.

"The situation's becoming quite serious," Murrue sighed and Mu patted her on the shoulder.

"Regardless, the people who were changed and the people who go against them, are all human either way," Lacus said, "No matter what the era is. I'm sure that there are people out there who also share our ideals." Turning to look at Kira, she added, "Aren't we here to make a world like that? A world that isn't like this?"

"Yeah," Kira smiled, "We are." As this was going on, Cagalli had drifted into a corridor lit only by the light coming in through the window, which overlooked the hangar. Staring out of that window was Athrun, who had been absent at the meeting.

"You've been here the whole time?" Cagalli asked and Athrun turned to her in surprise, "What's going through your head now? Thinking by yourself isn't going to help, you know, that's why everyone's talking with each other. You really shouldn't miss things like that."

"Sorry…"

"Does it hurt?" Cagalli suddenly asked, looking at Athrun's arm.

"Oh, um…" Athrun blinked, "No, not anymore…"

"Of course it does," she said, "You were shot by your father, weren't you?"

"I…couldn't stop him…" Athrun sighed, "Even now, I've only just realized it…"

"Athrun?"

"I've realized…that there's nothing that I can do…" Athrun continued, "That…I don't understand anything…"

"It's the same for everyone else!" Cagalli said, "The only weird people are the ones who pretend to understand when they don't!"

"Cagalli…"

"It's too early to give up on him, Athrun!" Cagalli added with a smile, "Someday, you might have another chance to have an honest talk with him." Suddenly, her face fell a little as she told him, "Athrun…my father's dead, and I'll never get another chance to talk with him again. So please, don't just…?!" Cagalli was suddenly cut off when Athrun floated forward and pulled her into an awkward, one-armed hug with his good arm, causing the two to drift a little. "A-Athrun?" she blinked as blood rushed to her face and she was a bit relieved that they couldn't see each other's faces.

"Sorry…"

"Sorry?" Cagalli asked as she tried to move her arms, "Hey…"

"Well, I mean…" Athrun stuttered, also trying not to blush, "Never mind…"

-----------------------------

"Clotho Buer, strengthening implant stage three, Biological CPU for X-307, all personal data has been purged," Natarle read to herself from the monitor on her armrest, "Orga Sabnak, Biological CPU for X-131, stage two, also has no personal data. Shani Andras, stage four, Biological CPU for X-252, no personal data." She paused and then sighed, "They're still just teenagers and yet…it's like they're nothing more than pieces of equipment…"

"How long until we reach L4?" Azrael asked as he floated past her.

"It won't be long now," Natarle told him, "But I still don't going to L4 without any solid information is a good idea…"

"We have the information that I gathered myself," Azrael chuckled, "I think that should be solid enough for you."

"But that information came from PLANT!" Natarle argued, "Don't you think it might be a trap?"

"Freedom, Justice, and Double X…that's what those three machines were called," Azrael said, "Even as we speak, three Nazca-class cruisers are heading towards L4, and I doubt they'd send that many if they weren't there. The only way we'll get them is if we get there first, understand?" When he noticed that Natarle wasn't answering, he added, "Don't get me wrong, you're definitely a capable Captain for this ship, but there are still other people who oversee battlefields to strategize and give orders. Besides, weren't you told to listen to my requests? I really would appreciate it if you took that seriously." As he moved off, Natarle frowned and went back looking at the screen.

"He doesn't have to rub it in like that…"

-----------------------------

A few days later at Mendel, the dock was bustling with activity as Mobile Suits moved around carrying crates to the three ships. "Okay, we've loaded all of the ammunition and supplies we can carry," Waltfield said to Mu as he pushed Haro away from his head while the said pilot had the Strike pick up a crate, "If we run out, I've already contacted some loyalists back at PLANT to help us out if they can."

"How much more time until we can depart?" Lacus asked as an orange and navy Haro floated near her head.

"It shouldn't take more than another few hours."

"I see," Lacus nodded, "Thank you."

"She sure is amazing," Mu chuckled as the Strike straightened up, "That Pink Princess."

"Commander!" Asagi called out as she approached in her Astray unit, "Let me take that crate."

"It's fine," Mu said, "Besides, this can serve as practice for me as well. You've all tried out the space simulator, right?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then I'd better get used to moving out here myself," Mu laughed, "I can't let the rest of you guys take all the glory when we fight." Asagi nodded and then had her Astray unit raise its hand so that the Strike could push off of it.

"If the Eternal is going to be used primarily as a transport ship, then it might be better for the Freedom, Justice, Double X, and G-Falcon to standby over there," Murrue said to Lacus, Kira, Athrun, and Ryo, "We'll keep the Strike and Buster."

"Understood," Kira nodded, "We'll head over to the Eternal now." With that, he cut off the communication screen to see Ryo helping Athrun remove his arm-sling.

"You're sure you're arm's completely healed, right Athrun?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah," Athrun said, "It's not bothering me as much anymore."

"Alright then, you two go ahead and get ready," Ryo nodded, "I'll get Tiffa and see if she wants to come along." Noticing the quizzical look he was getting, he added, "What? She's the G-Falcon's pilot. Since we're moving it to the Eternal, she might as well go too." Kira nodded slowly and as he left with Athrun, Ryo thought with a shrug, "What was that all about?" Deciding to not worry about it, he turned and headed down the corridor to the bridge, where he knew Tiffa was on duty. Before he reached the lift, however, he spotted her approaching him before she waved to him. "Tiffa?" he blinked, "Aren't you on bridge duty right now?"

"Miss Ramius told me that I was being transferred to the Eternal," Tiffa replied, "So I was just going to get my things."

"I see," Ryo smiled, "Well, I guess I'd better start getting ready to go too. It'd be best if we made this as smooth as possible." Meanwhile, the Dominion had arrived near the boundaries of the L4 cluster and the crew had detected heat signatures within the area.

"Mendel Colony in sight," an officer said as he brought a visual onto the screen, "Three battleships have been confirmed to be inside. One of them is the Archangel."

"Looks like we're a step ahead of them, now isn't that lucky?" Azrael smirked, "Well, let's get going. I don't care if the Archangel goes down or not, all I want are those three Mobile Suits." When Natarle paused, he added in an assuring way, "Don't worry, my boys are ready to launch too. Gotta keep up my end of the deal, don't I?" Natarle sighed, knowing that there was no way around this before turning to issue commands.

"This ship will now engage in combat," Natarle said, "Bring the Igelstellung and Valiants online. Load all missile tubes with Sledgehammers. Ready the Lohengrin and target the Archangel-class 1st Ship." As the Dominion's Lohengrin cannons deployed, its main engines warmed up and then burst to life, propelling it from behind the asteroid it had been hiding behind. Its movement was quickly picked up by the Archangel's sensors and Sai quickly relayed his discovery to the bridge.

"Incoming heat source, looks like a battleship!" he said, "Distance 700, Orange 11, Mark 18 Alpha! Searching the library…no match-up!"

"All hands, Level One Battle Stations!" Murrue ordered, "Get ready to intercept it!"

"All hands at Level One Battle Stations!" the loud-speaker blared, "Repeat, all hands at Level One Battle Stations!" A few minutes later, as the pilots hurried to get their Mobile Suits ready, the Dominion had gotten within firing range and was targeting the gate.

"Lohengrin Number Two, fire!" Natarle barked and the positron cannon let loose a stream of energy that shook the entire dock on impact.

"Launch Archangel!" Murrue said, "Get us out of the port! Colonel Kisaka, what's the Kusanagi's status?"

"Everything's clear," Kisaka nodded, "We're good to go."

"The Eternal isn't done with its final checks," Waltfield said on a screen on her arm-rest.

"Stay here then," Murrue told him, "We'll see if we can find out who's out there and what they want."

"Roger that," Waltfield nodded as the Archangel lifted off, "Sorry about this."

"Activate the Igelstellung and Valiant!" Murrue ordered, "Load all stern missile pods!" As the Archangel came into view outside the colony, Natarle suddenly remembered what Murrue had said to her prior to their arrival in Alaska.

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"_I'm sure that you'll make a very fine Captain…some day…"_

-----------------------------

"_I hope that we can meet again someday…someplace other than the battle field."_

-----------------------------------------------------------

With a sudden impulse, she keyed into the Archangel's communication network and picked up the phone on her armrest before standing up. "This is the Earth Forces' Archangel-class Second Ship, Dominion," she said, "Archangel, do you copy?" As the crew members looked up in surprise, she continued, "We request the immediate and unconditional surrender of your renegade ship!"

"Natarle…"

"Lieutenant Badgiruel?"

"If you do not comply to our requests," Natarle added, "We will open fire!"

"Captain!" Miriallia called out, "We have a visual of the enemy ship!" At that, an image flickered onto the screen and all present were shocked to see a ship that looked almost exactly like their own.

"The Archangel…"

"It's the same class…!"

"It's been a while," Natarle said as her face appeared on the main screen, "Captain Ramius."

"It has," Murrue nodded.

"It's unfortunate that we have to meet again under these circumstances," Natarle continued, "I heard about what happened in Alaska but please, surrender and return to headquarters to discuss this with the board. I don't have much influence, but I'll do whatever I can to support you. I'm sure that you of all people should know the abilities of these battleships…"

"Thank you, Natarle, but I'm afraid that I just can't do that," Murrue interrupted, "This isn't just about what happened at Alaska. We no longer have any faith in the Earth Forces in general. No surrender, no return to the military!"

"Captain Ramius…"

"Heh heh heh, that was a pretty interesting display," Azrael chuckled, clapping his hand on his knee, "But if things like this could just be settled through talks, then we wouldn't be at war at all. We're not enemies because we don't understand each other, so we just have to destroy our enemies instead…"

"Director Azrael…"

"Launch Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider," Azrael added calmly, "I'll be sure to scatter the 'invincible' Archangel's parts all over space today…"

"Azrael…" Miriallia frowned, "I've heard that name somewhere…"

"He's one of the Earth Alliance's biggest contributors," Neumann said, "He's also the head of the Blue Cosmos."

"So he's here…" Ryo thought, narrowing his eyes, "I can't let him get away with what he's done…"

"Course clear! X-131, you are clear for launch!"

"A Mobile Suit has launched from the Dominion!" Miriallia announced, "It's one of the new models!"

"Kira! Ryo! Tiffa! Mu!" Murrue ordered, "Go ahead!"

"Roger that!" Kira nodded, "Launching!"

"Ryo Mouri, launching!"

"Strike, please launch!"

"Alright," Mu nodded and shut his helmet's visor as the Launcher-pack was attached to the Strike, "Let's go!"

"Tiffa Adil, launching G-Falcon!"

"Athrun Zala, Justice, launching!"

"This is Buster, heading out!"

"Buster, please launch!"

"Strike, Buster, and G-Falcon will stay behind to defend the Archangel!" Murrue said, "Freedom, Justice, and Double X will engage the enemy!"

"Athrun, Ryo!" Kira said when he noticed three dots on his radar, "It's those three from before!"

"Yeah."

"Watch out for the debris," Murrue warned, "Be especially careful of the metal-poly strings."

"Roger," Chandra nodded, "I'll keep an eye out for them." As the Archangel advanced through the floating debris, the Kusanagi began heading out of the port as well.

"Get the engines to full power as soon as we're clear of the port!" Cagalli ordered, "We'll provide cover for the Archangel!"

"Let's go!" Orga shouted as he fired off the Calamity's Schlag cannons before the Forbidden and Raider charged forward.

"The boss wants those three intact!" Clotho said as the other three moved aside to dodge.

"How about just one?" Shani mused.

"The Archangel and an unidentified battleship are approaching," an officer on the Dominion warned, "Course: Green 94, Mark 3 Bravo!"

"Load missile pods one through six with the Korinthos!" Natarle ordered, "Set launch pattern B and standby! Target Orange-Alpha 17 to 42 and fire at a five-point angle level! Advance to Indigo 13, Mark 20 Charlie at full speed!"

"Um, not to be a back-seat driver, but…" Azrael frowned, "What exactly are you trying to achieve firing the missiles over there?"

"Just sit tight and watch," Natarle retorted as the missiles launched. Meanwhile, Dearka easily dodged a burst of shots from a lone Strike Dagger before forming its anti-armor shotgun, aiming at the Strike Dagger as it ducked behind a piece of debris. This proved futile, though, as a single round from the weapon blew apart its cover and tore off its left arm as well. Before the Strike Dagger could retaliate, a shot from the Launcher Strike's Agni impulse cannon hit it from behind and it exploded in a burst of light.

"I'll show you just how good I've gotten at this!" Mu declared as he locked onto another.

"It's just one ship!" Cagalli said as the Kusanagi pulled up behind the Archangel, "Aim for it's engines…?!" She was suddenly cut off as the entire ship suddenly jerked to a stop and the bridge shook as its momentum rattled the interior.

"What just happened?" Kisaka asked.

"We're caught on something!" an officer replied, "Looks like some kind of cable got tangled around the ship!"

"Can you get us loose?"

"It's too tight, it'll be impossible to shake it off."

"Asagi, something's caught onto the ship," Kisaka said, "I need you to remove it as quickly as you can."

"Yes sir," Asagi nodded and quickly headed out, catching Shani's attention.

"Hmm…" he frowned before taking off in the Forbidden.

"Oh no!" Athrun thought, "The Kusanagi…"

"Shani!" Clotho shouted, "Dammit, now what's he up to?" As he said this, he launched the Raider's Mjolnir hammer, forcing Kira and Ryo to dodge both the Mobile Suit and its weapon before finding themselves caught between the Raider and Calamity.

"Let's get these to first!" Orga grinned and aimed the Calamity's weapons at the two. Suddenly, Kira saw the Mjolnir headed towards them again and tried to shoot it down with the Freedom's Picus guns but when that proved futile, he deflected the hammer with the Freedom's shield, sending it crashing into the Calamity instead. Back at the Kusanagi, Asagi was busy cutting through the heavy wires with her Astray's beam saber when all of a sudden, a shadow loomed over her and she looked up to see the Forbidden with its scythe raised.

"Gotcha…" Shani smirked and was about to strike when it was suddenly thrown aside as the Justice's Fatum-00 sub-lifter slammed into it.

"Don't just stand there!" Athrun shouted, "Hurry up and cut the Kusanagi loose!"

"R-Right!" Asagi nodded, snapping out of her daze.

"Athrun…"

"Hmph…" Shani growled, "Get out of my way!" As the Forbidden charged forward, Athrun reattached the Fatum-00 to the Justice and combined its Lacerta sabers into the ambidextrous saber before stepping on the accelerator to meet the charge.

-----------------------------

"Well now, what's this?" Rau mused as he watched the ensuing battle on a view-screen, "It looks like someone else is here."

"We've confirmed two other vessels with the Eternal. We think one of them may be the Legged Ship," Ades told him, "And it looks like the Earth Forces have only one ship here."

"We'd best sit back for now and watch," Rau sighed, "Without sufficient data, we'll be at a disadvantage." After a pause, he continued, "Yzak and I will go into the colony to gather intelligence."

"You're…" Ades blinked as Yzak looked up in surprise, "You're going out personally, Commander?"

"The Paladin and Dijon will be here shortly," Rau assured him before getting up, "The Mendel Colony…if all goes well, we'll be able to find a few answers to our questions. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

-----------------------------

"Where's the Dominion?!"

"There's too much debris, I can't…" Sai frowned before his computer started beeping, "Wait, I've spotted her! She's at Blue 19 Alpha!"

"But that's…right above us!" Murrue gaped and looked up at a screen to see the Dominion emerging from behind a piece of debris above them, "When did she…?!"

"Aim Gottfrieds!" Natarle ordered, "Fire!"

"Evade!" As Neumann steered the Archangel away from the blasts, several small canisters nearby suddenly reacted to its movement and activated, shooting towards the ship.

"Incoming missiles from Orange Delta!" Miriallia warned.

"Intercept them now!"

"It's too late!"

"No! Archangel!" Kira grunted and turned the Freedom around as Ryo followed suit in the Double X before both fired their plasma cannons at the missiles. Despite the added support of the Igelstellung guns and a Gottfried blast, two missiles managed to his the starboard missile launchers and Gottfried cannon, rocking the bridge violently.

"Nice," Azrael nodded approvingly, "I guess you knew what you were doing after all."

"That strategy was just child's play," Natarle told him.

"Ma'am, incoming heat source!" an officer called out, "Looks like…a Mobile Armor!"

"Mobile Armor?" Natarle blinked and then thought, "Is it…" An image appeared on the view screen and she was surprised to see a red and black fighter headed towards them. "That's not the Mobius Zero," she frowned, "Who…?"

"Careful, Tiffa!" Ryo said when he saw the G-Falcon headed for the Dominion, "Don't get too close!"

"Okay," Tiffa nodded and fired a salvo of missiles at one of the Gottfried cannons.

"Fire Helldarts!" Natarle shouted and the Dominion's anti-air rockets launched to intercept the incoming missiles, only to be shot down by the G-Falcon's machine guns. "Igelstellungs on full automatic!" Natarle ordered, "Don't let that craft get close to us!" As the Igelstellungs opened up, Tiffa quickly rolled the G-Falcon out of the way and maneuvered the craft through the bullets with relative ease, finally shooting back with the scatter beam cannons and destroying three turrets.. "That pilot's good…it has to be him!" Natarle thought and quickly tried to find the G-Falcon's frequency, "This is Natarle Badgiruel to the unknown craft! Is that you, Commander Flaga?"

"What?" Tiffa blinked, "She thinks…" Hesitantly, she keyed in the comm. and replied, "No…I'm not Commander Flaga…"

"That's…" Natarle thought as her eyes widened, "Crewman Adil?! But…I thought she was terrified of piloting…" By this time, the Freedom and Double X had closed in to assist Tiffa and Natarle quickly snapped out of her thoughts, "We only need to capture those two, right?"

"That's right," Azrael grinned, "Preferably with their bodies intact."

"Alright then. Valiants and Gottfrieds, target the enemy Mobile Suits!" Natarle ordered, "Raider and Calamity, return to base to assist! Fire!" At her command, the Dominion's guns opened fire on the two Mobile Suits, forcing them to block with their shields. The impact pushed both of them back a bit when Kira noticed the Raider approaching with its Mjolnir raised.

"Ryo, look out!"

"I see him!" Ryo grunted and turned to aim at the Raider, only to get hit from behind by a shot from the Calamity.

"Ha!" Orga laughed, "We've got you this time!"

"Damn…we're completely boxed in…" Ryo thought and then called out, "Tiffa, it's getting too dangerous here! Fall back to the Archangel now!"

"What about you?"

"We'll be alright," he assured her and then added under his breath, "I hope…"

"Okay then," Tiffa nodded, "I'm going back now!" As the G-Falcon turned to leave, Ryo and Kira quickly fired a few shots at the Raider and Calamity to draw their attention and allow her to escape. Meanwhile, the Vesalius was opening its linear catapult, with Rau's new GuAIZ prepared to launch.

"Are you prepared, Yzak?" Rau asked, "We are leaving now.

"Yes sir!" Yzak nodded, sitting inside the Duel as it stood behind the GuAIZ.

"Very well then," Rau said, "Let's go." As the two launched, Mu had just finished destroying a Strike Dagger when a familiar feeling tugged at his skull.

"That feeling again!" he exclaimed, "Is it him?!" Putting away the Launcher Strike's Agni impulse cannon, he flew off towards the colony but not before catching Dearka's attention.

"Hey, pops!" the blonde called out, "Where're you going?!"

"Don't call me pops!" Mu barked, "The ZAFT forces are here!" Alarmed, Dearka quickly followed the Strike towards the colony in the Buster. Meanwhile, Kira and Ryo were desperately wheeling about in their respective Mobile Suits to avoid the heavy fire coming from the Calamity and Dominion while the Raider chased them through the debris.

"Kira!" Athrun called out, even as he battled the Forbidden while the Justice stood on its Fatum-00 unit, "Ryo!"

"No!" Murrue cried, "Natarle, don't!"

"Load Sledgehammer missiles! Target the enemy Mobile Suits!" Natarle ordered but thought to herself at the same time, "I'm sorry…please forgive me…"

"She wouldn't…!" Ryo exclaimed when he noticed the Dominion's missile pods opening up.

"Fire!"

"She did…" he cringed as the missiles streaked towards the Freedom and Double X, "Man…it's the desert all over again…"

Phase 42- End

Author's note: Again, I'm very sorry for the delay. My internet's been on the fritz lately and I just started school. I promise to have the next chapter up sometime next week, though.

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Maybe only a little bit…

Weasel Debater- Thank you

AndrogenousDr.Q- Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll manage. And yes, I suppose I do need to add some variation to that…


	45. Spiral of Encounters

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 44- Spiral of Encounters

_July 12, C.E. 71, Mendel Colony, L 4 Colony cluster_

As the waves of Sledgehammer missiles streamed towards the Freedom and Double X, the SEED appeared in the minds of their pilots, spiraling once before bursting into a nova of colors. At once, the two activated their multi-targeting computers and locked onto as many missiles as they could before firing every weapon their Mobile Suits possessed, filling up the space in front of them with fireballs as the missiles detonated prematurely.

"You…" Clotho snarled, "You're toast!" Kira looked back in time for the Mjolnir hammer to smash into the Freedom's back before he quickly turned it back upright.

"We just have to leave the torso intact, right?" Orga frowned before opening fire with the Calamity's Scylla and Schlag cannons. Caught between fire from the Calamity and Raider, the Freedom and Double X could only dodge before the Raider managed to clip the latter with its claws.

"Kira! Ryo!" Athrun called out before pulling the Justice away from a shot from the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon, "Dammit!" Thinking quickly, he pulled one of the Justice's Bassel beam boomerangs from its shoulder-mount and hurled it at the Forbidden. When he saw the disk of energy coming, Shani quickly put up the Forbidden's shields, only for the boomerang to cut a deep gash into both of them. When he parted them, he saw the Justice closing in before swinging with its ambidextrous saber, severing the head of the Nidhoggr scythe from the handle. Meanwhile, Orga was trying to get a solid lock on the Freedom and Double X but was having a bit of trouble with the Raider constantly flying into his line of fire.

"Dammit," Orga growled, "Move outta the way, Clotho!"

"Hey!" Clotho retorted, "Are you trying to blow these things up or something?!" Saying that, he ignited the Ahura Mazda blades in the Raider's claws and charged at the Freedom, managing to force aside its shield and leaving it wide open.

"I've got you now!" Orga shouted and fired the Calamity's Scylla cannon at the defenseless Freedom.

"No!" Ryo exclaimed, "Kira, move!" At that moment, Athrun arrived in the Justice and also went into SEED-mode, moving in front of the Freedom and blocking the shot with the Justice's shield. Then, before the amazed eyes of the others, he gunned the Justice's thrusters and actually pushed through the Scylla cannon shot until the Justice was right in front of the Calamity, at which point the pressure on the cannon exceeded its limits and caused an explosion, sending the artillery Mobile Suit flying back.

"Whoa…" Sai muttered.

"Athrun…" Cagalli blinked as the Justice pulled back. At this time, the Raider came back for a second run, shooting at the Justice with its heavy machine guns. Although his shield had sustained a lot of damage, Athrun quickly raised it anyway as he back the Justice away from the charging Raider. Quickly, Kira and Ryo flew in front of the Justice and fired at the Raider with their plasma cannons to drive the Raider off.

"Athrun!" Ryo called out, "You alright?"

"I'm fine!" Athrun nodded, "Don't worry about it!"

"That's good," Kira said, "And thanks."

"Oh, now that's really quite a shame. We came pretty close that time," Azrael remarked calmly, "Well, I guess we'll just have to try again, won't we?"

"Not yet," Natarle replied, "Our own Mobile Suits are still in the line of fire."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about hitting them by accident," Azrael told her in an assuring way, "Our units are equipped with Trans-Phase Shift Armor. They'll be fine."

"The Archangel is approaching!" an officer warned and Natarle looked up to see the white ship closing the distance between them.

"Aim Gottfrieds!" Murrue ordered, "Fire!"

"Evade!" Natarle shouted and the Dominion's pilot quickly veered the ship out of the way of the shot.

-----------------------------

As this was going on, Mu and Dearka had returned to the hangar where the Eternal was still undergoing its final preparations. As they passed by, Lacus and Waltfield looked up in confusion before the latter called to Mu through the Eternal's comm. system. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, "Where are you two heading?"

"We think there might be some ZAFT guys in the colony," Dearka replied on the view screen, "Well…at least, he does…anyway, we're going to check out the residential areas for a bit to make sure."

"Alright," Waltfield nodded before killing the connection, "Geeze…now we've got people behind us too…"

"We should prioritize getting the Eternal moving first," Lacus told him, "Especially now that we're in a rush, we'll have to leave it to them to investigate."

"Yeah," Waltfield agreed, "Dacosta, how much longer?" Meanwhile, Rau and Yzak had entered the colony's abandoned residential area and the latter had begun searching for any signs of life down below. Rau, however, grinned as a tingling sensation tugged at this skull, a feeling that was also felt by Mu as he and Dearka entered the residential area as well.

"There!" Mu thought and quickly moved in with Dearka in tow. Soon, the four machines were close enough together that they showed up on the radar and Yzak zoomed in on the two in the distance to get a better look.

"The Strike…" he muttered in surprised, "And…the Buster?!"

"The Duel…" Dearka frowned as shots were fired between them before they paired off against each other. Mu quickly went after Rau's GuAIZ and fired the Launcher Strike's gun-launchers at it.

"I see…so you're the pilot of the unit now…" Rau smirked, "Mu la Flaga!" He returned fire with his GuAIZ's beam rifle, which the Strike dodged before firing its Agni impulse cannon.

"A new model?" Mu muttered, "Damn, it's too fast. And this equipment isn't suited for high speed combat…"

-----------------------------

"Why you…!" Orga shouted and fire the Calamity's Schlag cannons, which the other three Mobile Suits easily dodged.

"Take this!" Clotho declared and shot at them with the Raider's hyper velocity cannons, only to have this countered by beam rifle fire from the Freedom and Double X. Just then, another beam of energy narrowly missed the Justice and all heads turned to see the Forbidden charging at the red Mobile Suit, with a very angry Shani at the controls.

"You…" he snarled, "You…you…!" As he said this, he continued to blindly fire the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon in random directions, coming dangerously close to hitting the Calamity and Raider in the process.

"Shani!"

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!"

"He's completely lost it!" Athrun exclaimed as the Forbidden deflected fire from the Freedom's Balaena plasma cannons with its Geschmeidig Panzer field before continuing to chase him. Seeing that the Forbidden wasn't letting up, Ryo drew one of the Double X's hyper beam swords and got between it and the Justice to drive it off with a swing. Meanwhile, Asagi had finally finished cutting through the cables binding the Kusanagi in place and lifted off from the ship's hull.

"Sorry for taking so long!" Asagi said over her Astray's comm., "But you should be able to move now!"

"Don't worry about it," Kisaka nodded as the cables drifted off, "You did well."

"Engines, full speed ahead!" Cagalli ordered, "We're going after the Dominion! Let's not be a hindrance now!"

"Fire Helldarts!" Murrue said as the Kusanagi moved up behind it.

"Aim Valiants!" Natarle shouted, "Fire!" As the missiles streaked towards the Dominion, its Igelstellung guns automatically opened fire to shoot them down.

"Evade!" Murrue called out and Neumann steered the Archangel to avoid the shots from the Dominion's Valiant guns. A little ways off, the Kusanagi's Igelstellungs were also deployed to ward off incoming Strike Daggers and the Astray units were doing a fine job of repelling them as well.

"Why you…!" Mayura swore and managed to shoot a Strike Dagger through its cockpit before another appeared to engage her. As she moved away to avoid being hit, Juri's Astray unit moved in to cover her.

"Asagi!" she called out and her comrade quickly flew over to join her.

-----------------------------

"Damn you!" Yzak shouted as he swung the Duel's beam saber at the Buster, only to have it dodge, "How dare you come out in Dearka's machine?!"

"Yzak…" Dearka muttered to himself, "Come on, don't make me do this…" Off to the side, Mu was attempting to get a shot in at Rau's GuAIZ with the Launcher Strike's Anti-Ship Vulcan gun, although he wasn't having much luck against the more agile machine.

"Who would have thought…" Rau sneered, "That I would fight against you in a place like this?!"

"Tsch…" Mu frowned, "Rau le Creuset…" At this point, Rau had ignited the GuAIZ's shield-mounted beam claws and charged in to take a swing at the Strike.

"It almost makes me happy…" Rau added as the Strike dodged, "Mu…"

-----------------------------

Outside, the Dominion had taken a hit to its starboard hull as the Kusanagi advanced closer. "The ORB ship is approaching!" an officer warned, "Distance twenty, Orange 15, Mark One Alpha!"

"Well now," Azrael mused, "Looks like they finally managed to get themselves loose."

"Aim Gottfrieds One and Two!" Cagalli ordered, "Fire!" As the Dominion moved aside to avoid the shots, Natarle looked over their situation and decided that it was time to leave.

"Fire the signal flares!" she said, "We're retreating for now!"

"Even when they're right in our hands like this?" Azrael asked.

"Our new units are running low on power," Natarle told him, "And the stimulants for the pilots will be wearing off soon. We're at a bad disadvantage."

"I see," Azrael nodded, "So what you mean is that we're just pulling back for now and that we'll get them next time?"

"Are you that anxious to meet your maker?" Natarle frowned.

"Fire Valiants!" Murrue ordered and the Archangel's linear cannons fired, scoring a hit on the Dominion's already damaged side.

"Fire the signal flares and take us ten degrees to starboard!" Natarle ordered, "We're leaving!" At her command, the Dominion's small launcher tubes opened and fired three signal flares; pale blue, bright green, and amethyst. As the Archangel and Kusanagi crews looked on in confusion, the Extendeds growled in frustration when they saw the bright lights.

"Times up already?!" Orga frowned.

"Dammit…" Clotho sighed before transforming the Raider into Mobile Armor mode. Shani, however, was too consumed with rage to pay attention to the flares and continued chasing after the Justice.

"Damn you!" he shouted, "You'll pay!" Athrun tried to fight back with the Justice's Fortis beam cannons but they proved to be ineffective against the Forbidden's Geschmeidig Panzer field. Just then, another series of shots cut between the two machines and Athrun was surprised to see the Calamity and Raider surround the Forbidden.

"Shani!" Orga called out, "Stop it now!"

"We have orders to withdraw, idiot!" Clotho added, "Now let's go!"

"That guy…" Shani snarled, "Do you have any idea what he did?!"

"Shut up and retreat!" Orga snapped, "Or do you want them to punish us again?!" This jarred Shani back to his senses and he quickly followed his to companions as they hurried back to the Dominion.

"Even your retreat is exceptional," Murrue muttered as everyone else watched the Alliance Gundams disappear into the void of space, "Natarle…"

"Athrun, Ryo," Kira said as he regrouped with his two friends, "You guys alright?"

"Yeah," Athrun nodded, "But…those pilots…"

"I know," Kira replied, "I felt it at ORB too."

"They're definitely not normal soldiers," Ryo frowned, "And it's almost like…they're not even Naturals either…but then what are they?"

"We'll worry about that later," Kira told them, "Let's get back to the ship for now." The other two nodded at this before heading to the Archangel, which was turning around to go back to the colony's port. Meanwhile, the Astray units were returning to the Kusanagi and Cagalli breathed a sigh of relief to see that none of them had been destroyed.

"Hey," Waltfield's voice suddenly crackled over the speakers, "Is there still no word from Elsman and Flaga?"

-----------------------------

Although the battle outside the colony was over, the fight going on inside was still raging on. Mu was struggling to get a lock on Rau's GuAIZ while avoiding shots from its beam rifle at the same time. Deciding to take his chances, he fired off a few shots of his own from the Agni, although none of them managed to hit. "Heh…" Rau smirked, "Not bad at all, Mu…"

"Dammit, Creuset!" Mu swore, "This ends here!" With that, he fired off a pair of missiles from the Launcher Strike's gun-launchers, forcing Rau to pull back. Thinking quickly, the masked pilot maneuvered his machine lower before suddenly pulling back up, causing the missiles to explode on the ground.

-----------------------------

"Dearka! Dearka?!" Miriallia said into her headset, "Commander?!" After a while, she sighed and told Murrue, "It's no use…there's too much interference in the colony's interior…"

-----------------------------

"You Natural bastard!" Yzak shouted and swung at the Buster again, "I won't lose to you!" Drawing back, he fired the Duel's beam rifle, Shiva railgun, and missile launcher at the Buster simultaneously. Now faced with no choice, Dearka aimed the Buster's gun-launcher and fired, shooting down the missiles before moving aside to avoid the other shots.

"Yzak!" he finally called out, "Stop!" At this, Yzak froze, not believing what he had just heard.

"How…" he muttered, "Dearka…?"

-----------------------------

"I'll go look for them," Kira said as he made a few adjustments to the Freedom's controls, "You guys focus on supply and maintenance."

"Kira…"

"I'll come with you," Ryo added, "Someone's gotta watch your back."

"No problems with the Justice," Athrun said, "I'll go too."

"No, the Dominion hasn't fully retreated yet," Kira told him, "You'd better stay here in case it comes back, Athrun."

"Kira?" Athrun blinked.

"Don't worry, Athrun," Ryo grinned, "I'll hold his hand. Let's go, Kira." With that, the two Mobile Suits flew off into the port, leaving the Justice behind with Athrun in it.

"All ships, please commence immediate re-supply and maintenance," Lacus told the others as the Freedom and Double X passed the Archangel, "If ZAFT really is at the other port, then we are bound to become engaged in combat again. We cannot afford to lose at this critical point in time."

-----------------------------

As the Freedom and Double X entered the colony interior, Yzak was still having staring at the Buster, trying to figure out if what he had just heard was real or not.

"Dearka," he started, "Is that really you?"

"Yeah," Dearka nodded, "It's me."

"But then…why are you fighting alongside the Strike?!" Yzak frowned and shifted the Duel into an attack stance, "What the hell's going on, you bastard?!" As Dearka gritted his teeth, Yzak continued, "I'm glad that you're alive…but I won't forgive anyone for treason! Even you!"

"Yzak…"

"Dearka!" a voice called out over the Buster's speakers and both of them turned to see the Freedom and Double X approaching them.

"Kira!" Dearka replied, "Ryo!"

"That's…" Yzak muttered and suddenly remembered his first encounter with the two machines.

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_Yzak cried aloud when he saw the blade coming at him but at the last moment, Kira altered the angel of the attack and instead of slicing through the cockpit, he simply relieved the Duel of both its legs, surprising Yzak. "Forget about fighting and get the hell out of here!" Kira told him and then had the Freedom kick the Duel down towards the ocean, where it was caught by a friendly Dinn._

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Seething in his pilot suit, Yzak turned the Duel to attack but suddenly found the Buster between himself and his targets.

"Stop it, Yzak!" Dearka said before turning to the others, "You guys go on and help the old man. I'll deal with him."

"Are you sure?" Ryo frowned.

"Yeah," Dearka nodded, "I think I can reason with him."

"Alright then," Kira said, "But don't do anything we or Athrun would do."

"Athrun?" Yzak blinked, "He's with them too?" At this, the Freedom and Double X turned and flew off in another direction, leaving the two former comrades by themselves. To Yzak's surprise, the Buster's cockpit hissed open and he could see Dearka sitting in his seat.

"Let's put our weapons down and talk for a bit," the blonde said, "What do you say, Yzak?" The said fair-head frowned slightly before deciding to give it a try.

"Fine," Yzak growled and put the Duel's saber away before the two began to descend to the ground. Meanwhile, Rau had managed to slice the Launcher Strike's Agni impulse cannon in half with his GuAIZ's beam claws but Mu was able to use what was left of the weapon to stop the shield.

"If it's my fate to be shot down by you, then I thought that this place would be most appropriate," Rau smirked, "However, it doesn't look like there's any chance of that happening." With that, he had his GuAIZ kick the Strike away before drawing its beam rifle, "After all, how could the child ever hope to defeat the parent?!"

"Dammit…" Mu growled, ignoring Rau's words and ejected the Launcher pack before drawing the Strike's Armor Schneiders. In response, Rau launched his GuAIZ's extensional arrestors and a pair of beam blades ignited on the grappling hooks, one severing the Strike's right arm and the other piercing its left side. As a result, a small explosion went up in its cockpit and sent a piece of shrapnel into Mu's side, causing him to cry out in pain as the Strike crashed into the ground.

"It would seem that fate is on my side…" Rau grinned before a his skull tingled and he looked to the side, "What?!" He raised his GuAIZ's beam rifle, only for a pair of bright green and hot pink beams to shoot it out of its hand and severe its left arm below the elbow joint.

"Mu!" Kira's voice called out as the Freedom and Double X appeared, "Hang on!"

"It's the Freedom!" Rau exclaimed, "And Double X!" Before he could move again, Kira had shot off the GuAIZ's head with the Freedom's beam rifle before Ryo moved in closer and slashed off its legs with a hyper beam sword. With its balance completely off, the white GuAIZ crashed into the ground, its consoles flickering on and off. Grunting his displeasure, Rau took off his safety harness before opening the cockpit of his ruined machine. Mu saw this on one of the Strike's monitors and unclasped his own harness before taking of his helmet and opening the Strike's cockpit with his handgun raised. Rau, however, had his own gun and the two traded a few shots before Mu was forced to duck behind into the Strike's cockpit from the pain in his side.

"Mu…" Ryo frowned, "Come on, Kira, let's get down there and give him some help." As the two machines descended, Rau looked over at the building they were next to and grinned before turning back to the downed Strike. "Shall we end this here, Mu?!" he called out and fired twice before dashing towards the building, "If so, then come with me! I will personally show you to the gates of the abyss!" Saying that, he fired again before running inside.

"Dammit," Mu grunted, having climbed down from the Strike's cockpit, before running after him, "Can't let him get away."

"What's Mu doing?" Kira blinked, "Is he going inside?"

"Ugh, that's idiot…" Ryo sighed, "Alright, let's go after him." Moments later, the two landed and exited their cockpits, carrying their own handguns while Ryo had his knife tucked inside the pouch on his belt. "Okay, let's find Mu and get out of here," Ryo said as he pushed a magazine into his gun, "I've got a bad feeling about this place." Kira nodded and the two hurried into the entrance before ducking behind a doorway, listening intently for any sounds. For the most part, there was no noise except for the occasional rustling of fabric when one of them fidgeted but other than that, it was almost deathly quiet. All of a sudden, a gunshot rang out from inside and Ryo ran in its direction, followed by Kira.

"Do you know where we are, Mu?!" Rau's voice called out almost mockingly in the darkness.

"How the hell would I know?!" Mu's voice retorted before a series of gunshots rang out and then some footsteps as he ran for better cover.

"You really have no idea what this place is, do you?" Rau laughed, "You poor boy!" At this point, the two Coordinator pilots were making their way through the dimly lit hallway as quietly as they could, holding their guns at the ready constantly.

"Mu!" Kira called out suddenly and Ryo elbowed him in the ribs.

"Shut up!" he hissed, "Do you want the guy he's chasing to hear you?!"

"Kira?" Mu blinked, having heard them, "Ryo!"

"Kira Yamato…and Ryo Mouri?" Rau thought to himself in surprise when he heard this, "Those two…are alive?!"

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"Just do something about the CLT-Phase!"

"But we'll be done for if it takes another hit! We need to replace it!"

"Then just pray it doesn't get hit! We don't have any more time!"

"In other words, you just need to parallel circuit the B-Arc Bridge Breaker," Athrun explained to a pair of technicians nearby, "And find the ideal connection at Dump-25."

"Second squad, hurry up with the emergency manipulator installation and the distortion calculations."

"Asagi's unit is inbound!"

"What's the situation out there?" Kisaka asked.

"We've got three Nazca-class cruisers hovering near the opposite port!" Asagi replied, "They've been hiding in the debris this whole time."

"Three Nazcas…this could be a problem," Waltfield frowned, "What about the Dominion?"

"Still no signs of movement from them," Sai replied.

"I wonder if Flaga and Elsman will be able to find anything else out," Waltfield said, "But still…three Nazca-class cruisers. Whose team could that be?"

"It must be Creuset's team," Murrue said, "Mu's always said that he can tell when he's around, even though he doesn't know how he does it himself. Somehow…he knows Rau le Creuset…"

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"How nice of you two to join us!" Rau called out, "Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri!"

"What?" Ryo blinked as the two ran across a walk-way, "How does he know our names?"

"Mu!" Kira exclaimed when he spotted the senior pilot and hurried over to him, with Ryo close behind.

"Kira, Ryo!" Mu whispered as the two pressed themselves to the wall next to him, "Why'd you follow me?"

"We couldn't just let you run off by yourself," Kira smiled, "What would we say to Miss Murrue?"

"Heh…" Mu chuckled and nudged him with his elbow, "You guys…"

"Um, Mu…" Ryo frowned and pointed to the senior pilot's side, "Did you get shot or something?"

"Ah, it's nothing," Mu shrugged, "I'm fine."

"Your blood is soaking through your pilot suit!"

"Just a flesh wound…" There was a pause as the two younger pilots glanced at him incredulously.

"Mu…" Kira blinked, "Did you just quote the Black Knight?"

"What can I say?" Mu grinned, "He's got some pretty catchy one liners." He turned to peek around the corner, "Anyway, kid, if you're going to shoot something, at least turn the safety on your gun off."

"Oh, right…"

"Wait a minute," Ryo said as Kira switched his safety off, "You've had your gun out for the past eight minutes and it never occurred to you to turn off the _safety_?!"

"Eh heh heh…" Kira grinned and scratched the back of his neck as he sweat dropped, "Oops?"

"Quiet down, guys," Mu whispered, gesturing with a blood-stained glove, "Let's keep moving."

"Now come," Rau's voice said as the three stepped out into the open, "Come with me and see what used to be! For this is where it all began for you, Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri!"

"What?" Kira muttered, clearly taken back by the statement.

"Don't listen to him!" Mu hissed, "Whatever you do, don't be fooled by what he says!" With that, he put on a burst of speed and ran into the darkness, with Kira and Ryo close behind.

-----------------------------

Outside the facilities, Dearka and Yzak had reached the ground and were now standing approximately fifteen paces from each other. "Yzak…" Dearka began but was cut off when the fair-head suddenly drew a gun on him.

"Do you think…" Yzak growled, "That I can just stand around while my enemy is right in front of me?"

"Am I really your enemy, Yzak?"

"You became it."

"That's weird," Dearka frowned, still trying to maintain a light attitude, "I don't remember becoming your enemy."

"Shut up!" Yzak snapped, "You're a traitor to ZAFT and the homeland! That's why you're my enemy now!"

"I haven't betrayed anyone!"

"Then you tell me why you're hanging around with an Earth Forces Mobile Suit!"

"I'm not with the Earth Forces!" Dearka shouted, "But I can't just quietly follow orders when it looks like all we're trying to do is wipe out every last Natural alive!"

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, the three pilots had made their way to a closed door that Mu was sure Rau had gone into. "Basement Level Four," Ryo muttered as he read the sign above it out loud, "Human Gene Manipulation Lab? That doesn't sound very pleasant…" At this point, Mu had gotten the door open and peeked inside before three gunshots from within forced him to pull back.

"He's in there alright," Mu grunted, "If either of you catch sight of him, just shoot, don't bother trying to warn me." The two younger pilots nodded before the three of them moved into the lab, where they were greeted with a strange sight.

"What kind of place is this?" Kira frowned as they ducked behind a few guard rails. On either side of them were two large square-shaped indentions in the floor; each was half-filled with a strange blue liquid, which was illuminated by lights on the lining of the bottom, and contained nine pod-like objects assembled in rows of three. Each pod was about three feet tall and wide and had a monitor displaying what looked suspiciously similar to an image of a developing human fetus.

"What the hell are those?" Mu frowned, leaning closer for a better look.

"Whatever they are, they're still running somehow," Ryo replied, "And now that I think about it, this probably isn't the best spot to take cover." As they began moving along a gang-plank, Kira looked over his shoulder and spotted a few more objects hidden in the dark. "Hey," he whispered, "What are those?" Ryo and Mu stopped, the former reaching into his pouch and pulling out a small torch before shining it on the objects.

"My god…" Mu muttered.

"Those are…stasis tubes!" Ryo gaped, "But…what the hell are those things inside of them?!" Floating inside the tubes were what appeared to be more fetuses, except these were deformed beyond recognition. Some were missing limbs, others had eyes that were not of the proper size, but they could tell that they were all dead.

"What…" Kira muttered, "What happened to them?"

"It's like that scene from the fourth _Alien_ movie…" Ryo said and turned his torch to a particularly misshapen one, "Does that one have a _tail_ growing out of its ass?!"

"Looks like it…" Mu began but then grabbed the other two by the shoulders, "Get down!" No sooner had he pushed the two younger pilots to the floor than another two gunshots rang out from the far side of the lab.

"Does it bring back memories, Kira and Ryo?" Rau laughed from the shadows, "You two of all people should recognize this place!" Mu quickly got up and fired in the direction the shots had come from before hurrying over to another door.

"We…" Kira blinked before turning to Ryo, "We've been here?"

"Don't know, don't care," Ryo frowned, "Come on, let's go." As the two got up to follow Mu, Ryo looked up to read the sign over the door they were walking now approaching. "Professor Ulen Hibiki," he thought, "Well, I guess an office is a nice break from this lab." Before they entered, Mu reloaded his gun and then rushed in, dodging a few bullets before diving behind a couch. "Nice…" Ryo whistled as he and Kira watched from the doorway. Then, Mu stood up and fired off a few shots of his own before Rau finally managed to hit him in the arm, causing him to drop his gun in pain as he ducked down again.

"Mu!" Kira called out and he ran over to him as Rau turned the gun on him. Thinking quickly, Ryo hurried after his friend and fired randomly into the area where he thought the shots were coming from before he joined the others behind the couch. "Are you alright, Mu?" Kira asked as the senior pilot gripped his arm while Ryo hastily ejected his empty magazine and put in a fresh one.

"I won't kill you," Rau said as he emerged from the darkness, "At least, not until you learn the truth?"

"So that's Rau le Creuset…" Ryo thought to himself before he grabbed the gun that Mu had dropped and stood up, aiming both at the masked man as Kira aimed his own gun at him as well. For a moment, the three stared at each other intently before Rau drew something from behind it and tossed it over to them. Looking down, the two pilots were surprised to see that it was a very familiar looking object. "Hey…" Ryo blinked, "Isn't that…?"

"The picture that Cagalli showed us…" Kira muttered, "What's it doing here?" All of a sudden, there was a flapping sound as Rau tossed something else and a picture album landed on top of it, spilling its contents all over the floor. One of them, a picture o a young boy holding a toy airplane while sitting on the shoulders of a man similar to him, caught Mu's attention and his eyes widened when he saw it.

"That's…" Mu gaped, "My father!"

"Aren't you the least bit curious about the ultimate extent of humanity's insatiable desires? About the fools who pursued their insane dream for the sake of progress?," Rau's asked, ignoring Mu's comment, "After all, Kira and Ryo, you are both a part of all this too!"

Phase 44- End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- It would, but it's for the sake of plot. And no, Tiffa does not possess a SEED mode.

AndrogenousDr.Q- Thank you, I'll do my best not to disappoint you.

Ominae- That will be revealed later on.

Weasel Debater- Keep in mind that Tiffa is also a Newtype. Her skills aren't one hundred-percent up to par with Mu, but she has improved since her first time.


	46. The Opening Door

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 45- The Opening Door

_July 12, C.E. 71, Professor Ulen Hibiki's personal office, Mendel Colony_

Even as Rau continued his cryptic speech, Ryo frowned as he tried to make some sense of what the masked man was saying.

"A part of what?" he thought, "What's this place have to do with Kira and I?"

"These are hallowed grounds…the only remains of the dreams of the men who tried to play God," Rau sneered, "Have you ever considered…that the people who you call 'mother' and 'father', were not your real parents?" At this, Kira's eyes widened in surprise, but Ryo's only narrowed in response.

"What a load of crap," Ryo replied, "Are you saying that Kira and I were adopted? Well let me tell you something, Creuset, I've met Kira's parents. I know them on a personal level! Now you tell me that they're not his real mom and dad!" All of a sudden, Rau fired and the two pilots were forced to duck to avoid getting hit before standing back up. Even as he aimed his guns, Ryo noticed that Kira's hands were shaking. "Easy, Kira," he muttered, "Stay calm…"

"I figured you didn't," Rau continued, "If you had, you would have never turned out this way. Growing up and leading a normal life, free from any impurities."

"Just get to the point!" Ryo growled, "If there's anything I can't stand, it's when people blabber incessantly and never get to what they meant to say!"

"When Athrun told me about you, I had my suspicions. However…I never expected it to be the two of you," Rau said, seemingly ignorant to Ryo's words, "I had always believed that the children were killed, especially you two, along with your creator Professor Hibiki. After all, he was the Blue Cosmos' biggest target…"

"What are you…" Kira muttered, finding it harder to focus with every word that left Rau's mouth.

"And yet you both survived, grew, and continued to live even amidst the flames of war! How is that?" Rau mused aloud, "It makes even someone like me want to believe in such an absurd dream!"

"Just what are you trying to say we are?!" Kira snapped, steadying his hands, "What are you saying?!"

"You are the dream of humanity…the Ultimate Coordinator!" Rau explained, "It was Professor Hibiki who first created the artificial womb, and you were the only viable child it produced! And for that reason, a large number of your own siblings were sacrificed to bring you into the world!"

"Okay, now this is just getting out of hand!" Ryo frowned, "Ultimate Coordinator? Artificial womb? Do you spend all your free time just making up random terms to sound smart?! If what you're saying is true, which I'm not saying it is, then what the hell does this have to do with me?!"

"It has everything to do with you, fool!" Rau laughed, "Were it not for this technology, you would have never drawn your first breath!"

"Wait a minute," Ryo said, "Are you saying I came from one of _those_ things?!"

"If it were only so simple!" Rau replied, feigning pity, "You were but the first step! The prototype that led to the end product! The beginning of Professor Hibiki's dream and the horrors that followed after!"

"Okay, that does it!" Ryo fumed, "You may be an ace pilot, but you're obviously not a good speaker because I've had it up to here with your nonsense!" All of a sudden, Mu reached up and pulled both of the younger pilots down as Rau fired again, causing Kira to drop his gun. With surprising speed, Mu lunged forward and scooped the weapon off of the floor before firing at Rau, forcing him to step behind a divider. By now, Ryo had helped Kira to his feet and was heading for a flight of stairs that he had spotted. The brunette, on the other hand, was in a sort of daze and Mu had to give him a shove to get him moving before hobbling over to join Ryo by the stairs.

"Pull yourself together, you idiot!" Mu hissed when he saw Kira's distracted look, "I told you not to listen to him!"

"We should head down," Ryo said as a bullet pinged off of the wall next to them, "We can come up with a plan to get out of here once we've gotten into a better position."

-----------------------------

"What're we supposed to do about the three Nazca-classes out there?" Asagi asked.

"Not to mention it's going to be difficult taking on the Dominion's units on our own," Mayura added.

"Difficult? More like impossible!" Juri said.

"Kira and Ryo are taking way too long…" Athrun thought to himself and sealed his helmet's visor before gripping the Justice's controls, "This is Athrun Zala! I'm going out!"

"I'm afraid I can't permit that," Lacus said on one of his screens, "We need you to remain on standby here, Athrun."

"But if those guys have been gone for so long…"

"Then it's even more important that you stay," Lacus interrupted, "I'm sorry, Athrun, but we can't afford to stretch our forces any thinner. We don't know when the Dominion will renew its attack." After a pause, she added, "Besides…even if Kira and the others don't come back…we still need to fight on." Athrun nodded, but silently hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Mu, Ryo, and Kira had reached the bottom of the stairs and had taken cover behind several cabinets. "I still don't get why we can't just hide in the same spot," Mu whispered, "There's plenty of room back here."

"It's basic logic. Ace pilot or not, I doubt even he can shoot in two directions at once with one gun," Ryo said from across the room, " Besides, all that blood on you is really starting to stink."

"Now then…allow me to tell you a bit about myself," Rau grinned as he came down the stairs, halting their conversation, "I wasn't born a Natural, as the laws of nature had intended. Instead, I was born after being genetically engineered while still a zygote." He chuckled a bit as he reached over and turned flipped a few light-switches, "George Glenn was the first Coordinator that mankind ever knew. Do you have any idea how much darkness spread throughout the world because of the chaos that he unleashed? Do you know what happened afterward?" As he said that, Ryo suddenly became aware that his vision was starting to fade in and out.

"Wha…?" he thought and squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, "What's going on?" All of a sudden, Ryo felt the sensation of being struck by a bolt of lightning and as his eyes flew open, all he saw was a bright flash of light before an image began to form from it.

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_A lobby was crammed full of adults, most of them married couples. Those who were standing in front of the reception desks were describing what they wanted their newborn children to look like. "I want my child to have blonde hair and blue eyes," said one._

"_I want my child to possess all of my talents," another said, "So that they can benefit him later on in life."_

_-----------------------------_

"_You had a miscarriage?! What the hell were you doing?! We spent a fortune on those genetic enhancements!_

_-----------------------------_

"_Please make sure to be especially careful of what you eat during your pregnancy," a physician told a woman lying on her hospital bed, "And here's a schedule of some recommended activities for you to follow."_

-----------------------------

"_We won't be able to make any guarantees," a doctor said, "After all, the mothers body during pregnancy could still have an effect on the child when it's developing."_

_-----------------------------_

"_Oh no!" a woman exclaimed as she looked at the newborn in her arms, "Its eyes are the wrong color!"_

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"Such glorious dreams came at a great cost. No wonder everyone wanted them fulfilled!" Rau said, raising his gun, "No one wanted to see their dreams destroyed!"

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_A man in his late twenties leaned over his desk, his head resting in his palm in deep thought. "The biggest factor is the mother's body during the pregnancy," he muttered as he glanced over a series of sheets on his desk, "If I can just eliminate that aspect from the ratio…"_

_-----------------------------------------------------------_

"Is that why you question it?" Rau asked, "Because people wanted their wishes granted?!"

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"_We have a situation in Unit 3!"_

"_Dammit!" the same man swore as he leaned on the railing of the observatory deck, "Increase power in the filtering unit!"_

"_Heart rate increasing," a scientist warned as a monitor beeped continuously, "Blood pressure is over 200…"_

"_Stop it!" a woman next to him cried, "That's a human life in there! Not just a thing!"_

"_I know!" he assured, "That's why I have to see this through to the end!"_

"_A life should be born into this world!!" she said, "Not just manufactured like this!"_

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"So what did mankind gain?" Rau laughed, "What did they have to show for it at the end of it all?"

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"_You liar! You promised you would never do this again!" the woman screamed, "Give him back! Give my other child back to me!"_

"_You know I had no choice last time! The defect was on a genetic level!" her husband replied, "There was no telling what might have happened to him when he was born, Via!"_

"_But there's nothing wrong with this one, Ulen!" Via argued, "Why are you taking all these needless chances?!"_

"_Because I know it can be done!" Ulen replied, "I'll use the best technology that we have to make him the Ultimate Coordinator!"_

"_And just what is this all for? For your sake?!" Via screamed, "The 'Ultimate Coordinator?!' Is that supposed to bring our child happiness?!"_

"_The desire to make things better has always driven progress!" Ulen said, "And that in turn is what brings happiness!" As his wife struggled against him, he added in a softer tone, "Via, please believe me, I would have never done this if I wasn't absolutely certain it would work. I saved our first son with this technology but now I have the chance to make this one even better. I promise this will be the last one, but just bear with me a little longer…" At this, Via stopped struggling and looked up at him with a glint of hope in her eyes but her expression quickly became bitter as she spoke._

"_One more chance…" she said, "If you end up killing our son because of your insane experiment, there will be hell to pay…"_

_-----------------------------_

_A series of shootings flashed through Ryo's mind, each showing Coordinators being gunned down in public and their assailants crying "For the preservation of our blue and pure world!"_

_-----------------------------_

_Ulen Hibiki stood in front of the artificial womb containing his infant son alongside his colleagues, watching the monitor with baited breath, knowing that a single miscalculation would result in a disastrous failure. Several minutes passed before a panel on the screen flashed green and he let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he had accomplished his dream. "It's done," he said as he stood, "The Ultimate Coordinator is born!" As his colleagues applauded his success, Via stood watching from the observatory deck overhead. Upon hearing his declaration, she let out a soft sob as she sank to the floor and buried her face in her palms as tears slid down her face but even as she cried, she let her lips pull themselves into a grateful smile._

_-----------------------------_

_Via sat near an empty crib, gently rocking its intended occupant in her arms. Her office had been set up in a way that allowed her to be with her child at all times while remaining in the workplace. As she hummed to the sleeping infant, there was a knock on her door and she looked up as it hissed open to reveal Ulen standing in the doorway. "Via…" he smiled, "It's done…I did it…"_

"_I know," she nodded and managed a weak smile of her own before looking back to her child, "I'm very happy…"_

"_Are you okay?" Ulen asked as he crossed the room, "You look tired."_

"_Of course I am," Via replied even as Ulen put his hand to her forehead, "I just spent the last three hours waiting to see if my unborn son was going to live or not."_

"_I'm so sorry, Via," Ulen sighed, "But don't you worry. Our son's going to be just fine and I'm sure his future will be bright too."_

"_I'm sure all of them will have bright futures," Via smiled and then whispered to the infant in her arms, "Did you hear that, sweetie? You're going to be a big brother soon…"_

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As the images began to fade, Ryo stirred and forced his eyes open, his head still throbbing from the experience as he propped himself up on his elbows. "What the hell just happened?" he wondered as he shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Just then, he became aware of Rau speaking and he quickly picked up the handguns he had dropped and pressed himself against the cabinets as he listened.

"They thirsted for knowledge," Rau said, gun still aimed at where Mu and Kira were hiding, "They sought to fulfill their desires through any means necessary!"

"What's he talking about now?" Ryo thought, "Does he mean that Hibiki guy again?"

"And then ultimately, they completely forgot why they were doing it! Even as they proclaimed their reverence for human life, they began toying with it," Rau continued, "And then they began destroying it!" As he said this, Kira began to recall the moments where his status as a Coordinator had earned him some rather harsh remarks, particularly from Flay.

"That's enough!" Mu growled and stood up before shooting at Rau, forcing the masked man to back off behind a corner. Moments later, however, he had reemerged and began shooting at Mu as he ran for cover, clutching his wounded side as he did so while the bullets miraculously missed him. As one of them shattered a view-screen, Ryo got up from his position and started firing both handguns at once to buy Mu some time.

"No matter what we learn, no matter what we obtain, nothing ever changes!" Rau declared as numerous objects around the room shattered from stray bullets impacting them as he shot at Ryo, "Humans are simply amazing that way! They become envious of each other, hate each other, and then destroy each other! If that's what they truly desire, then why don't they simply exterminate each other?!"

"Yeah?!" Mu shouted before leaning out to shoot, "And just gives you the right to sound so superior?!" The bullet grazed Rau's hair but the masked man calmly raised his own gun and shot at the cables holding up a large circular object on the ceiling, causing it to fall smash a desk before sending debris everywhere and forcing Mu to pull back.

"Imbecile, I am the only one who has earned that right!" Rau laughed as he ejected the empty magazine, "In all the universe, I alone have the right to judge humanity!"

"Cut the crap, you crackpot!" Mu snarled and leaned back out. At that moment, Ryo was kneeling down to reload when he felt his head begin to spin again.

"Dammit…" he swore quietly, "This again…?"

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_Ulen stood near a series of monitors, having just finished conversing with a blonde-haired man standing next to him. "I can't do that," Ulen said, shaking his head, "You know that cloning is illegal."_

"_Laws can be changed," the other man said, "After all, they are only made by humans."_

"_But still…"_

"_This technology came at a great cost. You really ought to put it to use," the man added, "After all, you do need funding for your research, don't you?" Ulen gritted his teeth but knew the other man was right. His failed experiments were beginning to have a major impact on his funds already._

"_Alright…" Ulen sighed, "I'll see what can be done, Mr. Flaga…"_

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"Don't you remember, Mu?" Rau asked as he reloaded his weapon, "We met each other once, before we ever met on the battlefield."

"What?" Mu blinked and from his position, even Kira was paying close attention.

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_Ulen and his accomplice stood over a single tube lying horizontally with two other scientists standing by. Inside the tube was a single newborn infant with blonde hair. "But are you certain that's me?" the man asked, seemingly unsure of what he was seeing._

"_Yes, Mr. Flaga," Ulen sighed, mentally rolling his eyes, "That's you. That's your clone, therefore that's you."_

"_Oh well, he will be my successor nonetheless," the man sighed, "Why should that woman's child be my heir…?"_

-----------------------------

_The same man conversed with a maid in his office, having summoned her a moment ago. "Keep a close eye on him and educate him well," he said, "Whatever you do, don't make him into another weakling."_

"_Yes sir," the maid nodded but even as she prepared to leave, she didn't notice a young by with golden blonde hair and blue eyes standing by the doorway, listening to what they were saying._

_-----------------------------_

_The residents of the Flaga household were gathered outside on the front lawn as the main building was consumed in flames. All of a sudden, a distressed cry was heard from one of the maids, "The master and his wife are still in the house!"_

"_Mom…" the young boy cried as another maid comforted him, "Dad…" Not too far away, a second boy with paler hair stood by a tree, watching the flames grow wilder. Instead of looking panicked, however, a rather disturbing grin was etched across this child's face, as if he knew something no one else did._

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"This is getting too weird…" Ryo groaned as he sat up again, "Why do I keep seeing those images?"

"I am he," Rau said, catching his attention, "That arrogant fool who thought he could thwart death itself with his money. Al da Flaga, your father!"

"Hello…" Ryo blinked, "Star Wars fanatic much?"

"But of course…" Rau added, "I am simply that man's defective clone…"

"What?!" the three other pilots exclaimed, glancing at each other and then back at Rau with wide eyes.

-----------------------------

At the moment, the Dominion was drifting near a piece of debris to conceal itself from enemy radar. "We're detecting three Nazca-class cruisers up ahead," an officer announced, "Distance is 122."

"Making the first move would put us at a severe disadvantage," Natarle frowned, "I'm afraid I can't guarantee any success."

"Anyone can easily declare anything to be impossible. Making that impossible thing possible is what counts," Azrael replied, hovering above the floor, "It's one of the basic facts of the business world."

"That may be, but this is a battlefield, not an office," Natarle said, "Failure means death out here."

"And it's the same thing in the business world Are you saying you're one of those people who'll only fight if you know you'll win?" Azrael asked, grinning as he cocked an eyebrow, "Although, that's perfectly fine by me. When push comes to shove, you gotta do what you gotta do to come out on top." He paused for a moment before adding, "But we can't just stay here forever, now can we? Come now, Captain, give it your best shot. Think positive thoughts. Remember, winners never quit and quitters never win."

"I suppose…" Natarle sighed and thought to herself as Azrael turned away, "I'm starting to think getting promoted wasn't worth it. Not if I have to put up with this guy…" Meanwhile, the conversation between Dearka and Yzak was still going on, with Yzak still holding his former comrade at gunpoint.

"The Freedom's pilot used to pilot the Strike too and also happens to be a Coordinator," Dearka told him, catching his attention, "The same with the other Mobile Suit's pilot. They were both friends of Athrun's…"

"What?!" Yzak blinked, completely thrown off by the last comment as he remembered his previous encounters with the Archangel's Mobile Suit pilots, "Athrun knows those guys?!"

"Yeah," Dearka nodded, "I'm not as devoted to this cause as they are but…I've seen some things…" As he remembered the incident with Miriallia, he added, "I've watched them. And after seeing what happened to Alaska, Panama, and then ORB, there's no way that I can just go back to ZAFT and fight like they tell me to."

"Dearka…" Yzak growled, gesturing with his gun in a threatening manner. At the same time, the Dominion's three Biological CPUs were getting ready to launch again as they strapped themselves down to their seats.

"You think we'll get in trouble if we come back without anything again?" Shani asked as he closed his visor.

"I'll bet on it," Clotho sneered, "That old bastard's just using us to make him look good."

"It could be worse," Orga shrugged, "At least we're kicking ass instead of getting our own asses kicked."

"X-131, APU separation confirmed. Path is clear," the mechanic said as the starboard catapult opened, "Prepared to launch. X-252 will follow."

"Launch the Dominion!" Natarle ordered as soon as all three Mobile Suits were out of the hangar, "Engines full speed ahead!" This move didn't go unnoticed, however, and the Dominion and its Mobile Suits were soon detected by the other ships in the vicinity.

"Captain!" Sai called out, "It's the Dominion! She's started moving again!"

"Captain Ades!"

"Dammit, where the hell is the Commander?!" Ades swore, "What could he possibly be doing in there that's taking him so long?!"

-----------------------------

Back in the laboratory, Mu, Kira, and Ryo were still staring at Rau, all of them confused by his previous statement. "What the hell are you getting at, Creuset?" Mu frowned, breathing deeply as he tried to ease the pain in his side, "My dad's _clone_?! You expect anyone to believe that bullshit?!"

"I'd be happier not believing it too," Rau said calmly, "But unfortunately, it's all too true!"

-----------------------------

"The Dominion's closing in fast!" Miriallia warned, "Distance 50 at Green Bravo!"

"All hands, Level One Battle Stations!" Murrue ordered, "All units prepare to engage!"

"Three additional heat signals approaching!" Sai told her, "It's those three Mobile Suits again!"

-----------------------------

"The final door is about to open, Mu! And I am the one who will open it!" Rau laughed as he approached Mu's position, "And when I do, this world…this world of insatiable desires will come to an end! And all the conceited fools floundering about in it will finally have their wishes come true!" As he was saying this, Kira glanced over to his side and spotted a particularly sharp piece of metal lying on the floor. Deciding to chance it, he sprang to his feet just as Rau raised his gun.

"You!" he shouted as he scooped the shard of metal in his hand, catching Rau's attention.

"Kira!" Mu called out, shocked by the younger pilot's recklessness.

"Stupid!" Ryo shouted as Rau started to shoot at Kira and then he and Mu started shooting at Rau.

"I won't…" Kira grunted as he sprinted across the room, monitors exploding shattering behind him as Rau's shots barely missed him, "I won't let you do such a thing!" As he continued to run, Ryo's guns clicked empty and, deciding that it would take too long to reload, he discarded both guns and drew his knife from his pouch before pulling his arm back to throw. At that moment, several things happened almost simultaneously. Kira and Ryo both threw their respective sharp objects a second before a bullet grazed Kira's shoulder, drawing a wince from the brunette. At the same time, Ryo's knife nicked Rau's gun arm and as he recoiled, the shard of metal that Kira had thrown connected with the edge of his mask, the force pulling the entire thing clean off.

-----------------------------

Outside, the Justice, G-Falcon, and several Astray units flew out from the colony as the Archangel, Kusanagi, and the battle-ready Eternal prepared to leave as well. "You guys keep back and protect the ships!" Athrun said to the others, "I'll do what I can against those three."

"Right," Asagi nodded.

"Keep an eye on the Nazca-classes' movements!" Murrue said as the ships emerged into space, "Aim the Gottfrieds and load the Korinthos missiles!"

"Prepare the main cannon and deploy anti-beam depth charges!" Waltfield ordered, "Concentrate all fire on the Dominion!"

-----------------------------

"Impossible…" Mu muttered, "He…he's…" Neither Kira nor Ryo could find the words to express their thoughts. For they saw now that had Rau's hair been shortened and darkened, he would have looked almost exactly like an angry Mu.

"Now…now you see…the truth…" Rau said, "When I was a child, I had no idea why I was abandoned and so I did some research. And eventually, I found out just how ugly human greed can be!" He continued without any waiting for any cues, "They had discovered that I was aging faster than I should have been…and when they did, they threw me away like I was nothing!" There was another pause before he added, "Humans…always striving to become the better than everyone else…a desire that led to the research the created the Coordinators! And with it, they created a world filled with jealousy, hate, and envy that has become a murderous bloodbath!" His gun was completely forgotten now as he shouted, "Yes, I am full of hate, but not for Ulen Hibiki or even Al da Flaga! No…I hate the entire human race!!" The other three took a step back from him when he said this, a heavy silence filling the room as they took in what he had just said.

"You're mad…" Ryo said, "I've known some people who weren't right in the head before, but you…you leave all of them in the dust…"

"Do you think you can stop what's about to happen? No!" Rau laughed, completely ignoring Ryo's comment, "Nobody can do anything about it! The whirlpool of hatred created by humanity will swallow up the universe!" With those words, he turned on his heel and ran off again, startling the others.

"Wait! Creuset…argh!" Mu grunted as he sank to the floor, clutching his side.

-----------------------------

"Hey, it's the red guy again," Shani mused when he spotted the Justice heading towards them.

"Yeah, but that's it," Orga frowned, "Where're the other two?"

"Whatever," Clotho shrugged, "Let's just take on this guy first before they show up." As the three charged forward, Athrun quickly entered SEED mode and met them head on while the Dominion drifted out from behind a large piece of debris.

"Fire Gottfrieds!" Natarle ordered, "Follow up with the Korinthos!" Both of the Dominion's main guns fired at the Archangel before four missiles launched from its port stern launchers.

"Evade!" Murrue shouted and Neumann quickly pulled the Archangel to the side to avoid the shot.

"Missiles approaching from Green Alpha!" Sai warned.

"10 degrees to port!" Murrue said, "Fire Igelstellung!" The Archangel's CIWs started firing as the ship moved again, managing to shoot down three missiles before the fourth struck its hull. Meanwhile, a stray shot had hit the colony and caused the ground inside to shake, startling Yzak and Dearka.

"Yzak, do you copy?" Rau's voice crackled over the former's radio in his watch, "We're leaving."

"Understood," Yzak nodded and looked up to see Dearka walking towards the Buster before bringing his gun back up, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm getting out of here," Dearka replied, "But if you insist that I'm your enemy just because I'm not with ZAFT anymore, then go ahead and shoot me."

"You idiot, Dearka!" Yzak shouted, "Can't you see you're being deceived?!"

"Oh really? I wonder which one of us is really the one being deceived," Dearka said, "I don't know for sure but either way, I'm leaving." As he grabbed onto the zip cable connected to the Buster's cockpit, he added, "If it's possible, I'd rather not fight you. See you around, Yzak." With that, he entered his Mobile Suit's cockpit and took off, with Yzak watching for a few minutes before turning to leave as well. Back outside, Miriallia was busy trying to contact the pilots inside the colony but was not having any luck so far.

"Aim Gottfrieds!" Murrue ordered, "Fire!"

"Evade!" Natarle shouted when she saw the beams of energy, "Twenty degrees to port!" The Dominion moved just in time to dodge the beams before Natarle prepared to counter. Meanwhile, Clotho let out a war cry as he sent the Raider's Mjolnir hammer at the Justice. Athrun managed to dodge and fired a few shots at the Raider, only to have the Forbidden move between them and block his shots with its Geschmeidig Panzer field.

"Get outta the way, guys!" Orga called out as the Forbidden chased the Justice about before opening fire with its Schlag cannons.

"We need to support the Justice…" Lacus said worriedly, "Are we able to use the METEORs yet?"

"Not for another hour and a half, I'm afraid," Waltfield replied, "And the battle's probably gonna be over by then."

-----------------------------

"We should probably get out of here," Ryo said as he picked his knife up and put it back in his pouch, "You felt that tremor too, right?"

"Yeah," Kira nodded and turned to Mu, "Can you stand?"

"I think so," Mu grimaced, "But I might need a hand with walking…" Kira nodded again before putting Mu's arm over his shoulders while Ryo did the same with the other.

"I'm still wondering…" Ryo frowned, "What was that stuff that Creuset was ranting all about?"

"Not sure…but he's definitely got something planned…something big…" Mu panted as they started the walk back, "I don't care what happened to him to make him this way…he has no right to take it out on all of humanity!"

-----------------------------

"Keep out of their firing range by using the debris as a shield!" Murrue said before turning to Sai, "What's the status of the Nazca-classes?"

"Still no signs of movement," Sai replied.

"Captain!" Miriallia suddenly called out, "It's the Freedom and Double X! The Strike and Buster are with them too!" All heads momentarily looked to a view-screen to see the four Mobile Suits flying out from within the colony, with Freedom holding onto the de-active Strike.

"Kira, Ryo, is everything alright?" Murrue asked.

"Ryo and I are fine," Kira said, "But Mu's been injured."

"We'll drop the Strike off at the Archangel and then go to support Athrun," Ryo added, "Have a medical team standing by."

"Right, good luck you two," Murrue nodded and as the signal was cut, she thought to herself, "Mu…what did you get yourself into now?" Meanwhile, the Duel had brought Rau's heavily damaged GuAIZ back to the Vesalius and Yzak had just exited his Mobile Suit's cockpit. "Commander!" he called out as he hurried to the GuAIZ's cockpit, only to find the hatch open and the seats empty, "Huh? Where'd he go?" As it turned out, Rau had left his Mobile Suit the moment the airlock had closed and rushed back to his quarters, startling Flay as he burst through the door, his breathing labored with pain. Without even acknowledging her, he made a beeline for his desk and wrenched the top drawer open, pulling out a bottle of pills and shaking several of them out, not caring as they spilled out and floated around in the room before he crammed them into his mouth. His entire body seized up for a moment before he slammed his hands onto the desk, dislodging the bottle's top and sending even more pills flying everywhere. Still doubled over his desk, he groped around in the still open drawer and pulled out a spare mask before snapping it on and opening a comm. channel to the bridge.

"Ades!"

"Commander? What happ-"

"Get the Vesalius moving! Prepare to launch all Mobile Suits as well!" Rau shouted, "Relay that order to the Paladin and Dijon!"

"But-"

"Did you think we came all the way out here to do absolutely nothing?!" Rau raged, completely beside himself now, "No matter what happens, we can not let the Earth Forces get their hands on those units!"

"But Commander-"

"I'm going out too! Get my CGUE ready!" Rau added, "I'll be up to the bridge in a moment!" With that, he killed the connection and took a few deep breaths before suddenly reverting to his normal complexion. "Now then…I'll need your help as well," he said and startled Flay, who had drawn nearer to check on him, "This will be our last attempt to see if the door will finally open…" Back outside, the Justice had drawn one of its Bassel beam boomerangs and thrown it at the Forbidden, only to have the green Mobile Suit deflect it with its scythe. Clotho tried to hit the Justice with the Raider's Mjolnir hammer again but Athrun saw it coming and detached the Fatum-00 pack from the Justice's back and sent it at the Raider. As he did this, however, the Calamity appeared behind him and Athrun noticed just in time to turn around and raise the Justice's shield to block a shot from its plasma-sabot bazooka and avoid a shot from its Schlag cannons. Just then, two beams of green and pink energy narrowly missed the Calamity and all of them turned to see the Freedom and Double X charging into the fray.

"Athrun!" Kira called out.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Ryo grinned, "Let's get these guys, Athrun!"

"Kira, Ryo!" Athrun blinked, "You guys okay?"

"We're fine," Kira nodded before entering SEED mode and firing the Freedom's Balaena plasma cannons at the Calamity to drive it back.

"Why you…!" Orga growled and fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons at the Freedom as Kira drew a Lacerta beam saber and, in an astounding feat of skill, used it to deflect the Calamity's shots before closing in on the artillery Mobile Suit.

"Terminate!" Clotho yelled and shot at the Justice with the Raider's Zorn energy cannon, which Athrun easily dodged.

"You!" Shani snarled and fired the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon as Ryo also entered SEED mode, maneuvering the Double X around the Forbidden's shots.

"Take this!" Dearka shouted and connected the Buster's guns to form its long-range sniper rifle before taking aim and firing at the Forbidden. Shani noticed the shot and barely managed to get the Forbidden's Geschmeidig Panzer field up to deflect it. Off to the side, Kira had his hands full as the Orga and Clotho decided to focus their attention and fire on the Freedom, forcing the brunette to constantly move out of the way to avoid getting hit. Meanwhile, Sai noticed three blips appear on his screen and start moving towards the middle.

"The Nazca-classes are moving!" he called out, "Distance 80 at Blue Delta!" As this was happening, the Eternal was taking fire from missiles that managed to get past its CIWs. Seeing this, Kira, Ryo, and Athrun diverted their attention to shooting the missiles down, going as far as to fire off all their weaponry at once to finish them off. As the explosions died down, however, Kira couldn't help but hear Rau's ominous message ringing through his head.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_Do you think you can stop what's about to happen? No! Nobody can do anything about it! The whirlpool of hatred created by humanity will swallow up the universe!"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

Back on the Vesalius, the final phase of Rau's plan was about to be put in motion. Flay, dressed in a standard space suit stood near an open escape pod similar to the one that Kira had found Lacus in so long ago. "Don't just stand there!" one of the officers behind her barked, "Get in already!"

"Say, what are they sending her out for again?" another asked as the hatched closed and locked in place.

"Eh, who knows," the first one shrugged, "The Commander probably has some kind of plan…" Flay watched as they floated away before sighing, reflecting on what Rau had told her beforehand.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_I'm very tired now…so please deliver this key to the final door for me…" Rau said, handing her the disk she had seen him put into his computer, "If this key makes it into the hands of the Earth Alliance, this war will finally come to an end…"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"This is Commander Rau le Creuset of the ZAFT forces with a message for the Earth Alliance's Archangel-class battleship," Rau said into a headset, now standing on the bridge, "Before we begin battle, I would like to take this opportunity to release a captive that we've had on our ship for a while now…" As Natarle and Azrael exchanged confused glances, Rau allowed a small smirk to form on his face, knowing what would happen next.

Phase 45- End

To the reviewers:

AndrogenousDr.Q- I do plan to write a sequel to this story.

Infinite Freedom- I personally wouldn't consider Ryo as an Ultimate Coordinator…maybe Semi-Ultimate XD

HorseMagic17- I originally stated that I would not be doing a Destiny fic but after a few months of thinking, I'm beginning to consider otherwise.

Weasel Debater- See response to Infinite Freedom

Ominae- Please do.

Robby Cartwright- Thank you

tsukiyomi-chan- Thanks, it's nice to get some advice on how to improve every now and then.

Author's note: Alright guys, it's mid-November and that means it's crunch-time if I want to hold my deadline. Next chapter will be up next Sunday at latest.


	47. A Place for the Soul

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 46- A Place for the Soul

_July 12, C.E. 71, Mendel Colony, L4 Colony Cluster_

A salvo of missiles streaked towards the Archangel, avoiding the shots from the Valiant guns but ended up being shot down by the Igelstellungs. The Dominion fired a second salvo followed by a shot from its starboard Gottfried cannon as the Archangel countered with its own Gottfrieds. Off to the side, Athrun fired the Justice's Fortis beam cannons at the Forbidden, only to have Shani laugh in his face as they were deflected by its Geschmeidig Panzer field. At that moment, the Freedom appeared and hit it with its Xiphias railguns, the impact sending it flying backwards. As the Calamity flew forward to engage them, all of the pilots' attention was drawn to the sudden movement in the distance as the ZAFT forces began launching their Mobile Suits. "Our main target is the Eternal," Rau said to the pilots, "Don't bother with the others yet."

"Yzak Joule, Duel, launching!"

"Launch the escape pod as soon as I leave," Rau ordered as his CGUE stepped into the catapult.

"Yes sir," Ades nodded and watched as the white Mobile Suit was propelled into space.

"Heat sources detected! Mobile Suits in bound!" Miriallia warned from the Archangel, "Twelve Ginns, the Duel, and one CGUE approaching from Blue 22, Mark 18 Delta!" As the Vesalius moved closer to the ensuing battle, its rear hatch opened and Flay's space pod drifted out into space, startling the occupant as she held onto the armrests tightly.

"Ready main cannons!" Ades ordered, "Concentrate all fire on the Eternal!"

"Nazca-classes approaching!" Dacosta said, "Distance 30 at Orange 14, Mark 33 through 87 Charlie!"

"Dammit…" Waltfield muttered under his breath, "That Creuset sure does know how to show up at the worst times…" Looking up at the view screen, he said, "Colonel Kisaka, the Eternal and Kusanagi will counter the Nazca-classes. Commander Ramius, you think you guys can handle the Dominion on your own?"

"We'll do our best," Murrue nodded.

"Set a new course for Yellow 17, Mark 25 Alpha!" Waltfield ordered, "Acceleration at 70 percent!"

"Ready Gottfried One and Two!" Kisaka said, "Target the approaching ZAFT fleet!"

"Send out the M1s!" Cagalli added, "Have them handle the Ginns!" As the Astray units and Ginns moved at each other, Yzak watched them from the Duel as he reflected on Dearka's words.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_You idiot, Dearka! Can't you see you're being deceived?!"_

"_Oh really? I wonder which one of us is really the one being deceived…"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Dammit…" Yzak growled and shook his head, "Can't lose focus…" As he boosted forward, Dearka spotted the Duel approaching from the Buster and heaved a sigh.

"Yzak…" At that moment, the ZAFT ships had reached firing distance and as soon as their weapons were charged, all three Captains issued a simultaneous order.

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!" With that, bursts of concentrated energy started to fly between them, occasionally scoring a hit on their targets.

"Oh…ooohh…" Flay whimpered as she watched the explosion on the pods view screen, "Why did I let that man talk me into this…?"

"One of the Nazca-class ships has launched a life pod," an officer on the Dominion announced, "We have a confirmed signal."

"They just told us and then launched it," Natarle muttered, "Into such a hazardous environment too…"

"Well now, what's this all about?" Azrael mused, "Are they thinking of having it trashed? Or are they actually returning it?" After a paused, he added, "And there's always the chance of it being a trap. So, what will you do now, Miss Captain?"

"Incoming missiles!"

"Evade to port!"

"Could there really be a captive inside it?" Azrael said, tapping on his armrest, "I wonder…"

"Hmph…what a drag…" Clotho frowned before launching the Raider's Mjolnir hammer at the Justice but stepped on the accelerator to get in front of it. Athrun moved to avoid being run into by the Raider but just as he was about to aim the Justice's beam rifle, he was forced to move again as the Mjolnir barreled past him as well.

"That was too close…" Athrun breathed, "I have to be more careful…" Meanwhile, Kira had opened his helmet's visor to shake some sweat off his head, the droplets floating around in the cockpit. The moment he looked up, however, he saw the Calamity appear directly in front of him and he quickly moved back, firing the Freedom's Picus guns and beam rifle at the approaching Mobile Suit.

"Well," Orga sneered, "Aren't _you_ desperate?!" Off to the side, Ryo was having a bit of trouble avoiding the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon shots, as Shani would bend the beams to make them harder to dodge.

"This isn't good!" Athrun panted, "The M1s can't handle the Ginns by themselves!" All of a sudden, he noticed a round, black object hurtling towards him and he quickly brought the Justice's shield up to block the Mjolnir hammer.

"Tell me about it," Ryo grunted as he fired at the Raider, "We'll be surrounded soon if this keeps up!"

"Give up and die!" Clotho shouted and launched the Mjolnir at the Justice again. Athrun managed to dodge but turned to see a blast from the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon heading straight towards him. He cringed, waiting for impact but then breathed in relief when the Double X moved in front of him to block with its shield.

"Don't mess with me!" Orga snarled as he continued to chase after the Freedom, dodging its beam rifle shots before firing its chest-mounted Scylla cannon. Thinking quickly, Kira had the Freedom let go of its shield and moved, causing the blast to strike the shield and explode. "Where'd he go?!" Orga frowned and then looked down to see the Freedom charging forward with a saber drawn, "Oh crap!" It was too late to react, however, and the Freedom slashed his plasma-sabot bazooka in two with a quick slash, forcing Orga to let go before it exploded. Back near the ships, Mayura was backing up and shooting at a Ginn with her units beam rifle.

"You're just a Ginn…" she muttered frantically, "You're just a Ginn!" Fortunately for her, one of her shots finally hit it and she calmed down a bit as she watched it explode. All of a sudden, the Duel appeared from behind the smoke and prepared to shoot at her but was cut off by a shot from above.

"What the…?!" Yzak exclaimed and looked up, "Who…?" There on his monitor was the Buster, aiming its long-range sniper rifle directly at him. The two stared at each other for a moment before turning their respective Mobile Suits and flying away from each other. Meanwhile, Mu was making his way out of the medical bay, his arm in a sling and bandages wound tightly across his shoulder and mid-riff. Just as he was about to exit the door, the ship shook as it took another hit and he stumbled, managing to catch himself with his good arm.

"Go ahead and destroy one another…" Rau smirked as he watched it all unfold in front of him, "It's what you all want, isn't it…?" As this was happening, Flay was frantically searching for the Archangel's radio frequency from her pod, tapping random buttons and hoping one of them would work.

"Archangel…" she muttered, "Come on…Archangel…"

"Commander Waltfield," Lacus suddenly said.

"Yes?"

"I don't think there's any chance for us to win this battle," she told him, "Is there any way for us to escape?"

"We might be able to," Waltfield nodded, "If we can break through the ZAFT fleet, we should be able to get away."

"How?" Dacosta blinked, "If we do that, we'll be facing three ships. If we're going to break away, shouldn't we go for the Dominion instead?"

"That ship has Lohengrin cannons," Waltfield replied, "Attacking it head-on would be way too risky."

"And besides," Lacus added, "If we go through the ZAFT fleet, there won't be as much of a chance of us being pursued."

"Alright then," Waltfield said, "Dacosta, tell the Kusanagi to concentrate all of its fire on the Vesalius. Once that ship goes down, we'll make a break for it right through the ZAFT fleet. Relay that message to the Archangel as well."

"Yes sir," Dacosta nodded and quickly sent the word to the other two ships.

"We're going to break through the Vesalius's position?" Murrue asked.

"Yeah. If this battle keeps going on like this, we won't be able to hold them off for much longer," Waltfield explained as Mu entered the bridge, "It's a bit of a stretch, but I'm sure it'll work. Unless you guys have been able to talk it out with the Dominion, of course." Murrue looked up to see the said ship shooting at them with its Gottfrieds and a fresh missile salvo as Mu put his good hand on her shoulder.

"Well…" he shrugged and gave a wry smile, "I guess we don't have any other choice now."

"Understood," Murrue nodded at Waltfield and then said to Miriallia, "Please contact Kira and the others." As Miriallia got to work, Flay had finally found the frequency and at this point was on the verge of tears.

"Please…help me!" she cried, "ARCHANGEL!!" At that, all fighting came to a screeching halt as everyone looked around, trying to find the source of the voice as it echoed slightly.

"What the hell?" Ryo blinked, "Did any of you guys hear that too or am I just losing it?"

"No, I heard it too," Athrun frowned.

"Who was that?" Azrael mused and almost on cue, Flay's voice crackled through everyone's speakers again.

"It's me! Flay!" she called out, "Flay Allster!"

"It's coming from the ZAFT life pod's distress channel," one of the Dominion's officers said.

"It's me, you guys!" Flay said, "Sai?! Miss Murrue?!"

"Flay…?" Miriallia muttered.

"Could it be?" Sai blinked, a faint feeling of hope rising in his chest.

"Hey!" Waltfield frowned, "What's going on out there?!"

"Flay…" Kira gaped, remembering their last conversation and as he did, he let the Freedom lower its rifle.

"What the hell, Kira?!" Ryo shouted, "Are you out of your mind?!"

"I've got you!" Clotho snarled and fired the Raider's Zorn cannon, catching the Freedom in the back and destroying its left wing-binder.

"Kira!" Athrun called out.

"Please!" Flay continued, "Please, stop this!"

"That captive…she sounds young…" Azrael said, "Allster…Allster…where did I hear that before?"

"Calamity! Ensign Sabnack!" Natarle suddenly barked, "Retrieve that life pod at once!"

"What?!" Orga blinked even as he fired the Calamity's Scylla cannon at the Justice, "Are you serious?!" Athrun raised the Justice's shield to block but it has already sustained so much damage that the surface began to melt.

"Kira!"

"Dammit, Kira!" Ryo growled, "Don't just sit there! Freakin' do something!" Their words fell on deaf ears, however, as the brunette sat hunched over in his seat, still in shock over everything that had happened so far.

"That girl is the daughter of the late-Vice Minister George Allster," Natarle explained, "Hurry up, Ensign Sabnack!"

"Alright, alright!" Orga sighed and took off, muttering under his breath, "I'm only doin' this 'cause she at least calls me by my rank…" As the Calamity moved towards the escape pod, Kira faded out of SEED mode and spotted it and quickly became alarmed, scrambling to get the Freedom moving again.

"Yeah, but that doesn't prove it's not a trap…"

"But…"

"I-I have something…a key!" Flay stuttered, catching everyone's attention, "A key that's supposed to end this war! So please! Please, help me!"

"Flay!" Kira called out as he chased after the Calamity, "Dammit!"

"Kira!" Athrun shouted.

"Oh great," Ryo groaned as they headed after the Freedom, "Now what's he doing?" All of a sudden, the two noticed the Raider and Forbidden drawing up alongside them, aiming at the Freedom.

"Time's up!" Clotho shouted.

"You bastard!" Shani finished and fired the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon.

"Move!" Ryo shouted, "Kira, get out of there!" Ryo's words came too late, however, as the blast took off the entire left side of the Freedom's head and moments later, the Raider took off the rest with its Mjolnir hammer, leaving the Freedom drifting around headless as the monitors in its cockpit started to flicker.

"Kira!" Sai exclaimed as the others gasped in shock.

"Well now, that's interesting an interesting choice of words," Azrael grinned, "I wonder what this 'key' she was talking about is…"

"Do you really trust them?" Natarle asked as the Calamity grabbed onto the pod, "I don't really like the way it sounds…"

"Well, they certainly are effective in getting someone's attention," Azrael replied, "After all, it's not something you'd hear everyday…the 'key to ending the war'…" Meanwhile, the fire-fight between the ZAFT fleet and the Eternal and Kusanagi was drawing to a close as the two ships fired all of their weapons at the Vesalius, scoring multiple hits on its hull.

"Commander Ramius!" Waltfield called out, "We're leaving now!"

"But…" Murrue muttered, "What about…?"

"It's too late

, Murrue," Mu sighed, "She's with the Dominion now…" There was a brief silence before Murrue nodded and looked back up.

"Fire signal flares!" she ordered, "We're getting out of here!" At that, the flares were launched, much to the surprise of the Dominion's crew and the pilots. Kira, however, hadn't seen the flares as he was desperately making his way to the Calamity to reach Flay's pod.

"Flay!" he shouted, constantly adjusting the frequency knob, "FLAY!!" At the last one, Flay lifted her head and stared at the screen, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Kira…" Sai muttered.

"Kira?"

"That voice…" Natarle gaped, "Kira Yamato…he's alive?!"

"Flay!"

"Kira…?" Flay said, "Is it…"

"Take this!" Clotho yelled and shot at the Freedom with the Raider's hyper velocity cannons but Kira simply moved aside before the Justice arrived to block a shot from the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon, ambidextrous saber drawn.

"Kira, move!" Athrun called out as he threw a Bassel beam boomerang, "You're in no condition to fight those guys!" The boomerang missed the Raider but as the black Mobile Suit took aim, it turned back around and sliced off its right leg at the knee, similar to how Kira had done so with Miguel's Ginn with the Sword Strike on Heliopolis. Saying that, he had the Justice grab onto the incapacitated Freedom and flew off just as the Forbidden brought its scythe down while the Double X and Buster moved in to cover them. The latter quickly assembled its anti-armor shotgun and fired a burst at the Forbidden, knocking it back with the impact.

"She's…someone that I hurt…" Kira panted, not caring that his vision was fading in and out of focus, "I have to…protect her…"

"Kira…" Athrun sighed, now out of SEED mode.

"Stop whining," Ryo growled and then said with a sigh, "I'll…I'll try and get her…" At this, Kira looked up in surprise. Ryo had always made it plain how much he disliked the red-head and the fact that he was now going off to help her had thrown him for a loop.

"Ryo…"

"Don't get me wrong, Kira. I don't like Flay that much and she can say the same about me, but…" Ryo sighed, "But…she is my friend…and I'm obligated to help her in that case…" With that, he stepped on the accelerator and took off after the Calamity, hoping to catch up before it got too close to the Dominion. "Drop that pod!"

"Eh?" Orga frowned as he turned to look, "You talking to me?"

"Yeah, you!" Ryo said, "Now hand it over!"

"Piss off," Orga replied, "I've got orders to take this back."

"Look, this really isn't something I want to fight over," Ryo frowned, "Now just hand over the pod, and I'll leave."

"Buddy, you're getting on my last nerves!" Orga growled, "Now get outta my sight before I blast ya'!" When Ryo didn't move, he smirked and said, "Alright then, get a loud of this!" With that, he turned and fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons, forcing the Double X to move aside.

"Dammit, I can't shoot or I might hit the pod," Ryo thought to himself, "I've gotta knock it loose somehow…I know!" With that thought, he boosted forward and dodged a few shots from the Calamity before bringing the Double X's leg back and delivering a jarring kick to the Calamity's arm. This startled Orga enough to make him temporarily lose control of the arm and the Calamity let go of the pod before the Double X scooped it up into it hand. "Thanks!" Ryo laughed as he took off in the opposite direction. As he hurried after the Justice and Freedom he said into his comm., "Hey, you still alive in there?"

"Ryo?" Flay blinked, "You…"

"Yeah, it's me," Ryo nodded, "You thought I was dead too, huh?"

"But…" Flay frowned, "Why…?"

"Look, don't take this personally, okay? You may be an annoying bitch sometimes, but…" Ryo said and then smiled a bit, "You're _our_ annoying bitch." Flay felt her temper flare for a second but put it aside when she realized what the last part meant.

"I guess…" she nodded but then gasped, "Behind you!"

"Hm?" Ryo blinked and then noticed the Calamity chasing after him, "Dammit, can't I get just one break today?"

"Why you…!" Orga snarled, peeved at having the pod stolen from him, "Shani! Clotho! Help me catch this guy!"

"I know that!" Shani retorted, "Quit telling me what to do!" As the Raider transformed into Mobile Armor mode, Shani fired the Hresvelgr cannon and bent the beam in front of the Double X's path, forcing it to stop.

"This could get rough!" Ryo warned Flay as he readied the Double X's beam rifle, "Hang on tight! And pray you don't get motion-sickness while we're moving!" With that, he ignited the thrusters again and sped downward, hoping to lose the pursuing Raider while streams of energy flashed past him courtesy of the Forbidden and Calamity. He turned back to return fire a few times but was otherwise completely occupied with avoiding their shots and getting back to the others. At that moment, Orga and Shani changed their strategy by splitting up and firing from different angles, eventually trapping the Double X in a single spot. As this was going on, Ryo spotted the Buster lingering off in the distance and for a brief moment, considered throwing the pod over to the Buster and fighting his way out. "Nah, that wouldn't work," he sighed, shaking his head, "The pod would either get blown up or Flay will start blowing chunks inside her helmet…and then she won't be very happy when she gets back out…" As he was thinking, however, the Raider had reverted back to Mobile Suit mode and launched its Mjolnir hammer, catching him off guard and slamming into the Double X's shield. While it managed to absorb most of the impact, the shock still jolted the pod loose from its hands and send it drifting off again.

"Ah!" Flay screamed, "Ryo, help!"

"God dammit!" Ryo swore, "I'm tired, mentally overloaded, and definitely not in the mood to deal with this bullshit! Now get the hell out of my way!" He boosted towards the pod but as he did, the other three Mobile Suits did the same and Flay screamed as not one but _four_ Mobile Suits came rushing at her at the same time.

"Why me?!" she wailed and put her hands over her helmet as she braced for the inevitable impact. However, the impact never came as what occurred next was rather unexpected and even slightly comical to a bystander. Clotho, who hadn't noticed everyone else going for the pod, had chosen an angle that led straight into Shani's path and caused the two to ram into one another. As the two struggled to get their respective suits untangled from each other, they bowled right into the Double X and ended up getting Ryo caught up into the whole thing as well. The result was that all three of them were tangled up in a rather odd looking mess of machinery and the only ones not involved were Orga and Flay, the former having stopped the Calamity to watch and now both had a large sweat-drop rolling down the back of their heads.

"Oookay…" he blinked and had the Calamity reach for the pod, "I'll…just take this and leave now…" Taking a secure hold of the life pod, he hurried back to the Dominion as quickly as the Calamity's thrusters would allow it to and sighed in relief when he saw the catapult hatch opening.

"No! Ryo!" Flay called out, "Kira! Help!" At this time, Ryo, Shani, and Clotho had managed to get their suits untangled and were now looking about for the pod.

"What just happened?" Clotho frowned, "And where the hell did that pod go?"

"Don't look at me," Shani replied, "I thought you had it."

"Well I would've had it if you didn't run into me!" Clotho spat.

"What?! You ran into me!"

"I did not!"

"Yes you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Are…you kidding me?" Ryo gaped as he watched the exchange from the side and sweat-dropped.

"Liar!"

"Geek!"

"One-eye!"

"Wimp!"

"Your _face_ is a wimp!"

"Shut up!" Shani yelled, raising the Nidhoggr scythe, "You ran into me and that's final!"

"You wanna go, Shani?!" Clotho snarled and raised the Mjolnir hammer, "Fine! Let's go!"

"Will you _both_ shut up already?!" Ryo shouted, finally fed up by the argument, "God! How the hell do you guys stand living on the same ship?!"

"Hey, he started this!" Shani retorted, ignoring the fact that he was speaking to his enemy, "Right, Orga?" At that moment, it suddenly occurred to them that the other Biological CPU hadn't said a word since the argument started and they all glanced around to find that he was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, where is Orga?" Clotho blinked, "He was here when we went for the pod…"

"Say," Ryo frowned, "Isn't that your friend over there?" The two turned and all three of them zoomed in to see the Calamity backing into the Dominion's open catapult, the pod clutched in its hands.

"Oops…"

"That…" Shani said, "Was pretty embarrassing…" There was a brief pause before they all glanced at each other again.

"So…" Ryo began, "I guess…this means we go back to fighting each other, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"True…" Clotho nodded and Ryo did the same before a second pause settled in. Then, moments later, the Raider and Forbidden both raised their weapons and the Double X began retreating as it shot at them with its beam rifle. Meanwhile, the Kusanagi and Eternal had succeeded on inflicting heavy damage on the Vesalius, causing it to rock as explosions began flaring up inside it.

"The left wing's been hit! Plasma regulator has shut down!" on officer on board warned, "The engines have been hit! We're losing power!"

"No!" Yzak gasped when he saw the ship under attack, "The Vesalius!"

"Hmm…" Rau frowned when he too saw what was happening as he destroyed a Strike Dagger, "This is unexpected…"

"Hang in there, Kira," Athrun muttered as the Justice approached the Eternal, "We're almost there…" Just then, he spotted the Double X approaching with the Forbidden and Raider on its heels. "Ryo! Any luck?"

"For a few minutes, yeah," Ryo said, "But then all this crazy stuff happens and by the time it was all over, the Calamity had taken it to the Dominion. Sorry, Kira."

"Don't worry about it," Kira smiled weakly, "You did your best…" Just then, a curved plasma beam streaked by them and they looked to see the Forbidden charging another shot.

"You're not such a bad guy…" Shani admitted, "But don't think that means I'm gonna let you get away!" With that, he fired another shot but as they dodged again, Dearka appeared in the Buster and shot at it with its sniper rifle.

"Give them some cover!" Murrue ordered, "Fire Valiants!" The linear guns had turned all the way around and, now facing backwards, fired two rounds at the pursuing Mobile Suits. Both quickly moved out of the way, and were about to continue pursuing when Orga's voice suddenly crackled over their radios.

"Hey, don't go out too far!" he said, "Your power's not gonna last!" Startled, they looked down and saw their power meters were almost empty and stopped pursuing. At this point, the Justice, Double X, and Buster had landed on the Archangel's hull as it passed by the burning Vesalius.

"Captain Ades!" Athrun called out suddenly, "Captain Ades, are you there?"

"Athrun Zala?" Ades blinked, "Is that you?"

"Yes sir! Dearka's here too!" Athrun replied, "Listen, you have to get out of there! There's still time for you to escape!"

"I can't do that, Athrun," Ades replied, shaking his head, "A Captain must stay with his ship until the end. That has always been the way it is." He paused and then added, "Athrun, Dearka…you two are still young. Follow the path that you truly believe in." With that, he raised his hand to salute them as he said, "Farewell, you two! I wish you both success!"

"Captain…" Athrun muttered but nonetheless, raised his own hand to salute him as Dearka did the same.

"Fire signal flares!" Natarle ordered, "We're retreating as well!" As the flares exploded, the Vesalius burst into a violent fireball, marking the end of its long chase after the Archangel.

"We had better get going as well," Rau said calmly even as he watched his ship explode, "All remaining troops are to assemble at rally point Delta 0. There's no point in fighting the Earth Forces like this…" Yzak frowned at his words but obediently took off after Rau's CGUE, leaving the desolated battlefield behind.

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The door to the Dominion's bridge hissed open and an officer ushered a shaking Flay inside, who gasped at how similar it was to the Archangel's. "So you're the one who's been causing all this trouble," Azrael said as he approached, "Well? What's this 'key' you were speaking of? Do you actually have it?" Flay cringed a bit but held up the small disk in her hands, which he took. "Hmm…it looks legitimate," Azrael mused, looking it over, "Who gave this to you?"

"A-A man…named Rau le Creuset…" she stuttered, "He wore a mask…"

"Mm-hmm…" Azrael nodded, not really paying attention anymore as he exited the bridge. At that point, Natarle had stood up and Flay's eyes widened when she noticed her.

"L-Lieutenant Badgiruel!"

"It's been a while," Natarle smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "Flay Allster. Are you alright?" For a few seconds, Flay stood in dumb silence but eventually started to shake before burying her face in Natarle shoulder and weeping out of fear for being in an unfamiliar place and relief for seeing someone she knew at last. Natarle simply smiled and held her assuredly, knowing how scared she must have been. As this was going on, Azrael had gone into his room and inserted the disk into his laptop to see just what was on it. The first thing that appeared were the schematics for the Freedom, Justice, and Double X and as Azrael scrolled through this, one particular piece of information caught his eye. Just as he had suspected, all three units were powered by nuclear reactors and then he saw something else interesting. "An…N-Jammer Canceller?" he muttered, "Could it be…?" He clicked on it and his eyes widened as the data for the device appeared on the screen, listing every step and resource needed to build it. A maniacal grin spread across his face and he started to laugh uncontrollably. "PERFECT!!" he yelled, standing up so quickly he began to float, "Now…now we can finally win this war!"

-----------------------------

Back with the Archangel, Kusanagi, and Eternal, the damaged Freedom had been locked into place as emergency repairs on it began. "The synapse is badly burnt," a mechanic said, "We need to replace it and fast if it's ever going to move again!" Up in the observatory deck, Athrun and Ryo had lain Kira down on the couch so that he could rest and gotten his helmet off as well as loosening his pilot suit collar to help him breathe easier.

"Kira," Athrun said as they removed their own helmets, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kira nodded, still feeling rather dizzy, "Sorry…"

"Are you sure?" Ryo frowned, "I haven't seen you freeze up like that in the middle of a battle for months…what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing…" Kira replied, "I'm just…a bit stressed out, that's all…" As Ryo nodded in understand, the door hissed open and they turned to see Lacus coming in.

"Kira!" she exclaimed, seeing how pale he was, "What happened?" Kira turned to answer but as he did, he suddenly saw Flay's image instead of Lacus and his eyes widened.

"I'm…" he whispered, "I'm…so sorry…"

"Kira!" Athrun called out as the brunette suddenly passed out, "Kira!"

"Oh boy…" Ryo sighed, "Come on, we'd better move him to the infirmary." Later, on the Archangel, Murrue was visiting Mu in the infirmary when she suddenly got a call from the Eternal.

"What?" she gasped, "Is he alright?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, it's probably just the stress. At least, that's what he said," Ryo said on the other line, "Besides, it's not like this is the first time this has happened."

"I see…"

"What about you guys?" Ryo asked, "Any problem over there?"

"No," Murrue replied, "Everyone's back safely. We're all just a little tired."

"Same here," Ryo said, "Well, you guys take care."

"You too," Murrue nodded, "Call when he wakes up, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Ryo replied before the line went dead, signaling that he had hung up. Murrue sighed and put the receiver back on the wall before going back over to Mu's bed.

"Ryo just called," she told him, "Kira's collapsed again."

"Eh?" Mu blinked, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah," Murrue said and sat down on a stool next to the bed, "He said it was just from stress."

"Well…" Mu sighed, "It's certainly been hard on him…Ryo too…" Murrue nodded before opening a photo album that was on the bedside table and looking through it. "My father..." Mu suddenly said after a while, "He was an arrogant and unreasonable man…always doubting other people. He died when I was little and so that's all I remember about him…" After a brief pause, he added, "But this…this is just…unbelievable! Why'd this have to happen?"

"Mu…"

"And a failed product?" Mu frowned, referring to Rau this time, "He ages too quickly…something about shortened telomeres or whatever it was he was talking about…what's it all supposed to mean?"

"None of this is your fault, Mu," Murrue smiled and gently stroked his face with her hand.

"He has no past or future," Mu continued, "And he might not even have an identity…"

"And so…" Murrue asked, "He wants to take the world down with him?"

"I won't let him get succeed…" Mu growled, "I won't!" As this was happening, Cagalli had arrived on the Eternal from the Kusanagi and headed straight for the infirmary where Kira was being held. As she approached the door, she could hear Athrun's voice talking to someone and paused to listen before entering.

"So you're saying that you got tangled with two of them…" Athrun began, "And then when you broke free, they started having this big argument over who ran into whom?"

"Like a pair of seven year-olds," Ryo sighed, "You had to be there to believe it…" Cagalli was confused but decided not to think about it as she entered the room, where she saw Athrun, Lacus, Tiffa, and Ryo gathered near Kira's bed.

"Hey," Ryo said, "Glad you could make it."

"Of course I did," Cagalli replied, "I came as soon as you called." Turning to Kira, she asked, "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Athrun nodded, "I'm sure he will." Cagalli smiled and was about to say something else when something on the bedside table caught her eye.

"Hey," she frowned, "What's…" She trailed off when she picked up the picture frame and saw what was in it. "But…" she muttered as her hands shook, "How…?" Still holding the picture frame, she reached into her jacket with one hand and pulled out her own photo and when she looked closer, she saw that they were exactly the same. "No way…" Cagalli said and then turned to Ryo, "Where did this picture come from?"

"From the labs…"

"Labs?"

"Long story, I'll tell you later…" Ryo said, waving his hand dismissively, "Any way, Rau le Creuset tossed this photo over to us, and…"

"Wait a minute…" Athrun frowned, "Rau le Creuset gave you that photo?"

"It's odd, I know," Ryo nodded, "What was he doing with something like this? And where would he have gotten it, anyway?" Silence filled the room, only broken when Kira let out a small grunt as he stirred.

"Kira?" Lacus muttered as he opened his eyes, "Are you alright?" Kira glanced over and for a moment, thought he saw Flay leaning down to kiss him. He squeezed his eyes shut at the sight but when he opened them again, he saw that he was not in his room on the Archangel and that instead of Flay, Lacus was standing over him with the others in the background. Finally getting an idea of where he was, he started to sit up but Lacus quickly put a hand on his shoulder. "Kira…"

"I'm okay," Kira smiled, "Thanks."

"Kira," Cagalli said, "Do you…?" Kira looked over to her and when he saw the pictures in her hands, he was suddenly reminded of what Rau had said about his past.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Cagalli…" he stuttered, looking down at his knees, "I…I can't answer any questions right now…" Lacus and Athrun glanced at Kira and then the photos that Cagalli was holding and after a moment, made the connection.

"Would it be a bother to leave him with you?" Ryo whispered to Lacus.

"No," she smiled, "You go ahead." Ryo nodded and then turned to Athrun and Tiffa before jerking his head towards the door. Athrun returned the nod and as they headed for the door, he took Cagalli by the arm and pulled her along with them.

"Let's go, Cagalli."

"H-Hey!" the blonde exclaimed, letting go of the picture frame, "What're you doing?!" Athrun didn't answer and as soon as the door closed behind them, Cagalli pulled her arm away and asked, "What the hell was that all about?"

"Let's give them some space for a while," Athrun told her and her expression softened a bit, "He's pretty torn up right now…"

"Yeah…"

"That voice…the one on the speakers," Athrun suddenly said, "Did you recognize it?"

"Huh?" Cagalli blinked before remembering, "Oh, right, Flay. Yeah, she used to be on the Archangel too…she usually hung out with the others…"

"I see…" Athrun nodded before turning to Ryo, "Is that…why you went back for her, then?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ryo sighed, "I personally didn't get along with her too well, but…she's a friend nonetheless. I do feel kind of bad I couldn't get her back."

"There will be other chances," Tiffa smiled and put a hand on his arm, "We'll see her again."

"Right…" Ryo nodded before saying, "Well, I'm gonna go grab a bite. You guys coming?"

"No thanks," Athrun replied, "I'll stay here to keep an eye on Kira."

"Me too," Cagalli said.

"Alright then," Ryo shrugged, "Let me know if anything happens." With that, he started heading down the corridor but before he rounded the corner, he looked back and added, "And behave yourselves!"

"Hey!" Cagalli shouted, "What's that supposed to mean?!" By then, the other two had already disappeared and Cagalli huffed before saying, "I don't know what he's talking about…" Athrun just smiled and moved closer to her before resuming their talk. Inside the infirmary, Lacus saw that Kira was struggling to hold his tears back and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kira…"

"I'll…I'll be okay…" Kira sniffed, "Because…I promised that I'd never cry again…"

"It's okay to cry, Kira," Lacus said, "We cry because we are able to…it's something that makes us human…" Kira looked at her and she simply beamed at him, silently telling him it was alright. With that, Kira let his defenses down and the tears started flowing again but as he cried, Lacus took his head and eased it onto her lap, gently stroking his hair. "You have too many sad dreams, Kira…" she sighed as she listened to his weeping, "But the 'you' that is here right now…that is what's important…" Outside, Athrun stared out a window and reflected on their situation.

"Everyone's a mess…" he muttered, "It seems like everyone's crying about something or another…" After a brief pause, he added, "There's…too much pain in the world…"

"Yeah," Cagalli nodded and then floated over to Athrun and rested her head on his shoulder. And as Kira cried himself to sleep, as Miriallia approached Dearka in the mess hall, as Murrue gently kissed a sleeping Mu good night, and as Ryo and Tiffa stared out into the stars from the viewing deck, Athrun simply smiled and let it be.

Phase 46- End

To the reviewers:

Weasel Debater- Correct

Infinite Freedom- I suppose you can think of it that way…

Ominae- Not much of a change, but…just my own take on it…

Author's note: Officially my fastest chapter ever written.


	48. The Nightmare Reborn

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 47- The Nightmare Reborn

_July 16, C.E. 71, Earth Alliance Base, Iceland_

Two days after the events that occurred near the Mendel colony, Azrael had returned to Earth to present his prize the Alliance leadership: the blueprints to the N-Jammer Canceller, which would allow them to once again use nuclear power. "Getting these blueprints for us was definitely a big achievement, Mr. Azrael," one of them said, "However…we're not too sure about your proposal for an all-out nuclear attack on the PLANT…"

"Oh…?"

"I agree," another nodded, "We should take this opportunity to address the global energy crisis before focusing our military efforts."

"What are you saying?!" Azrael frowned and stood up, "If we hit them with a nuclear attack, this war will be over and we'll be able to address our own problems at our own leisure afterward. Remember, our enemies are the Coordinators, and we must do everything we can to defeat them." He paused a moment before adding, "Besides, you've used nukes in the past, haven't you? So, why back down now?"

"But…"

"Nuclear devices aren't around to make you happy to have them. They're powerful weapons, and weapons exist to be used," Azrael continued, "You've already spent a good deal of money building them, so you might as well use them too. It won't take too long…a few of them should be enough to finish this war once and for all…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

_The weeks went by, and each one saw shuttles laden with assembled nuclear missiles launching into space to be stored on the moon. _

_Meanwhile, the second Casablanca sea-battle ends in victory for the Earth Forces on July 24 as they drive the ZAFT forces out of the Gibraltar base as well as all of Europe. _

_August 8__saw the completion of Operation 8.8 and the capture of the Carpentaria base, significantly weakening the ZAFT's hold on the Earth's territories._

_On September 11, the Sixth Infantry Unit and Seventh Mobile Fleet depart from the Ptolemaeus Lunar base at noon to commence Operation Elvis with the PLANT homeland as their primary target._

_It is now September 23, and the Earth Forces fleet is approaching one of ZAFT's two space fortresses, Boaz, with both sides prepared to engage the other._

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"Commence Operation code-name 'Hedgehog'. Developing formation is Sicilian 3. All other orders will be transmitted in Gormenghast code following that," an officer on the Boaz said into his headset, "Send those primitive Naturals back to their caves!" By now, explosion were already beginning to flare up as the Earth Forces' Strike Daggers and Mobius units faced off against the Ginns, CGUEs, and the new GuAIZs that comprised the Boaz defense force. Beam rifle bolts, missiles, and bazooka rounds alike streaked back and forth between the two sides as the ships drew closer to firing range.

"The attack on Boaz has already begun?!" Yzak muttered to himself as he entered a briefing room filled with several new pilots and a few red-coats.

"Captain Joule!"

"Damn, those Naturals…"

"What's the situation?"

"How many enemy units are we up against?"

"Have we been ordered to engage?" Yzak sighed and took a deep breath to steady his temper. Over the past few months, he had been promoted to Captain and now led his own team. Most of his subordinates, however, had little to no combat experience and he knew that keeping them under control was going to be difficult.

"Alright, everyone, settle down," he finally said, raising his hand for silence. When everyone was quiet, he continued, "Now, I'm not too sure what's going on right now, but from what I've heard, the Boaz fortress is under attack by an Earth Forces fleet. They haven't told me their fighting strength but I don't think we'll be needed for this battle. So everyone just calm down and wait for further instructions. That is all." As he turned to leave, he heard the others start talking again and he sighed as the door closed behind him, "Stupid newbies…always questioning everything…"

"Captain Joule," a cool voice said from behind him and he turned to see another of his subordinates, Shiho Hahnenfuss. Only a few months younger than himself, she too wore a red uniform, although hers was the standard male version instead of the optional female variant. She had dark brown hair that was tied into a pony-tail below her shoulders and relatively even bangs while a few strands of hair lined the sides of her face, accenting her violet eyes. She was the best pilot under his command and used a prototype CGUE that was being integrated with beam weaponry, even though everyone else in the squad had been assigned a GuAIZ.

"Ah, Shiho," Yzak nodded, "Did you have something to report?"

"I've made those last few adjustments as you suggested, sir," Shiho replied, "My DEEP Arms should be ready for combat soon."

"Good," Yzak said, "If worst comes to worst, we'll need all the units we can get."

"Yes sir," Shiho nodded and Yzak gave her an approving look. She was everything that a soldier should be: focused, determined, and quick to follow orders. Just like himself. "Sir," Shiho said, noticing that he was staring, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," Yzak replied, shaking his head, "You are dismissed, Shiho." Shiho nodded and turned to leave as Yzak did the same but as she did, a small smile crossed her face as her cheeks began to turn pink.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, on Aprilius 1, Patrick Zala had arrived at the National Defense Committee headquarters to assess the situation himself. When he entered his office, he saw several other people there as well, among them Ezalia Joule and Rau le Creuset. "Chairman Zala!" Ezalia said as he approached them, "The situation is getting increasingly…"

"Stay calm. We've been anticipating an invasion from the Lunar Base for quite a while now," Patrick replied before turning to an officer standing nearby, "What's the status of the mobilization of Boaz's defense force."

"Fully complete, sir."

"And the media blackout?"

"That has also been done, sir."

"Very well," Patrick nodded and opened a monitor behind his desk, "Keep in contact with Boaz. I want to know exactly what's going on over there the moment it happens."

"Yes sir."

-----------------------------

"Dammit!" a ZAFT pilot swore as he destroyed a Strike Dagger with his Ginn's energy rifle, "There's too many of them…" The words had barely left his mouth when another Strike Dagger appeared from behind and destroyed his Ginn with a shot through its cockpit. Nearby, a GuAIZ used its extensional arrestors to pierce another Strike Dagger's armor before pulling it apart while a group of flew by.

"Don't underestimate us!" a pilot exclaimed as he fired at the Strike Daggers, "We're the protectors of Boaz for a reason!" As this was happening, a Drake-class ship went up in flames as a squad of Ginns moved away from it, bazooka's completely emptied.

"Evasive maneuvers!" an Earth Forces Captain ordered, "Don't let them get near us!" As he said this, a pair of Mobius Mobile Armors flew by before being shot down by the advancing GuAIZ squad while a pair of Strike Dagger's attempted to rush the fortress. This proved to be a fatal mistake, however, as they were quickly dispatched by the Boaz's heavy defense turrets.

"Loop around the enemy fleet's left flank!"

"Moore team, requesting assistance from Chelan team!"

"Concentrate your fire on the left flank!" the commanding officer of the Boaz ordered as two Nelson-classes and a Drake-class exploded, "Send in the Neil Team as backup! How's our center holding?"

"Kaiser Team is providing cover."

"Neil Team, launch from Gate 5!" he said and then muttered, "Hmph…just try and destroy the Boaz with your puny fleet, arrogant Naturals…"

-----------------------------

"If I may, Chairman Zala…" Rau suddenly said.

"What is it, Creuset?"

"I'm quite certain that the Earth Forces knows that the chances of bringing down Boaz are very slim with their number," Rau began, "Surely, they wouldn't attack without knowing for sure that they could win…the fact that they are so confident is a bit disconcerting to me…they may be planning something big…"

-----------------------------

"X-131, APU separation confirmed. Path is clear."

"Calamity, launch preparations complete. X-252 will follow."

"Now that I've gotten rid of the ZAFT on Earth…" Azrael said as the three Mobile Suits launched from the Dominion, "It's about time I finished off the ones in space as well."

"New heat sources inbound. Indigo 13, Mark 66 Bravo," an officer on the Boaz said, "Detecting three Mobile Suits, the same from Commander Creuset's report. Also detecting one Archangel-class warship and four Agamemnon-class carriers behind them. Distance 500."

"Hey," a ZAFT pilot blinked as he turned from a Drake-class that his squad had just destroyed, "What're those?"

"Dunno'," his companion replied, "Maybe their enemy reinforcements." As they were saying this, the three Biological CPUs were staring about the battlefield, their eyes wide with delight. To them, such a large-scale battle was like being a little kid in a candy store.

"Heh heh, you know what I see?" Clotho grinned before destroying a CGUE with the Raider's Mjolnir hammer, "Targets!"

"Well now, I can't seem to make up my mind! Which to shoot first…?" Orga wondered, also grinning, "I know…how about you?!" With that, he fired the Calamity's Scylla cannon and wiped out a pair of Ginns with a single shot. Meanwhile, a lone GuAIZ tried to ambush the Forbidden with its beam rifle but the pilot soon discovered that the weapon was useless as the beams bent around the Geschmeidig Panzer field.

"Why you little…" Shani growled, "No one takes a shot at me and gets away with it! No one!" He stepped on the accelerator and the Forbidden charged towards the GuAIZ, continuously deflecting beam shots until it got close enough and sliced it in half with the Nidhoggr scythe.

-----------------------------

"But still," Ezalia frowned, "It's only that Mobile Suit unit and the new warship. They must be stupid enough to believe that they can take down Boaz with just that."

"If that was the case, then we would have nothing to worry about," Rau nodded, "However…"

-----------------------------

"Ah, now that's more like it," Azrael grinned as he watched the three Biological CPUs plow a fiery path of destruction through the ZAFT forces, "Their first few sorties weren't up to expectations but give them a few more targets and they perform marvelously…"

"Incoming message from the Washington," Flay announced and moments later, Captain Sutherland's face appeared on the main view screen.

"We secured the route, Mr. Azrael," Sutherland said, "We will commence the final stages on your command."

"Do it," Azrael told him, "Let's show them just who they're dealing with."

"Yes sir," Sutherland nodded, "Launch Peacemaker unit!" At his command, the four Agamemnon-class carriers began launching waves of Mobius Mobile Armors, each armed with a single nuclear missile. Moments later, the Mobile Armors had gathered together and began making their way towards the Boaz, unbeknownst to the unsuspecting ZAFT forces.

-----------------------------

"What are you getting at, Creuset?"

"I'm…not exactly sure how to explain this, but…there are still a few complications floating around…" Rau began, "Freedom, Justice, Double X… and of course, Lacus Clyne…"

"What?"

-----------------------------

"Peacemaker unit, 400 from target."

"What're those?" a GuAIZ pilot blinked when he saw the moving silhouettes in the distance and turned to move closer for a better look. Before he got far, however, his machine was destroyed by a shot from the Raider, which had snuck up from behind.

"Oh no you don't!" Clotho laughed, "No one stops playing until I say they can!"

-----------------------------

"Are you saying that the Earth Forces are able to use their nuclear weapons again?!" Patrick exclaimed.

"No," Rau hastily said, "I'm sure that's highly improbable. I just mean…"

-----------------------------

"Removing safety mechanism," one of the Mobius pilots said, "Fuse operation confirmed!" As the Peacemaker unit drew closer and closer to the Boaz, the three Biological CPUs moved in front of them and fired on one of the heavy turrets, destroying it to create a gap in the defenses. With the path clear, each Mobius pilot aimed at the space fortress until their reticules blinked red. "Alright," the same pilot grinned, "Prepare to die, you space monsters."

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" another shouted and clicked the firing switch. One by one, the clamps holding the missiles in place were released before each one streamed towards the Boaz.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, a fair distance away from the battle, the group now dubbed the Three Ships Alliance was hidden away in a small asteroid field. Over the past few months, they had managed to establish contact with ORB remnants, what was left of the Clyne Faction back at PLANT, and even peace factions within the Earth Forces. With the help of Reverend Malchio, they were even able to secure the cooperation of the little-known Junk Guild and with it, a steady source of supplies for their ships. At the moment however, Kira, Athrun, and Ryo were in the locker room after having received some distressing news from Cagalli. "What?!" Athrun exclaimed, "Boaz is being invaded by the Earth Forces?"

"Yeah," Cagalli nodded from the view screen, "We're still trying to get some visuals but according to our sources, the battle started not too long ago."

"Boaz…isn't that one of ZAFT's space fortresses?" Ryo asked.

"That's right," Athrun nodded, "It's one of the last lines of defense alongside Jachin Due between the PLANT homeland and any outside threats.

"But if that's the case," Kira said, "Why would the Earth Forces make a head-on assault? I know they've been massing their forces for a while now but…surely they won't outnumber the ZAFT forces in the own territory."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Ryo frowned, "Something just doesn't feel right…"

"Commander," Dacosta said on the Eternal, "We're picking up a data stream straight from ZAFT's communication satellites."

"Satellites?" Waltfield frowned, "That's odd…"

"It is…I'm not picking up any N-Jammer interference…" Dacosta nodded, "Wait, we're getting a visual…it's coming up on the screen now…"

-----------------------------

At that moment, the Boaz was illuminated by blinding flashes of light along its surface as the nuclear missiles impacted. All combatants stopped what they were doing and watched in shock, horror, and in some cases, ecstasy.

"Yeah!" Clotho cheered, "Look at that!"

"Awesome!" Orga grinned, "That's one big explosion!"

"Sure is bright," Shani nodded, "I like it…" Even as the Boaz's outer surface was eaten away, more missiles streaked into openings and detonated inside the hangars, disintegrating ships, Mobile Suits, and personnel alike.

"We're picking up a massive heat signature inside the fortress!" an officer in the command center exclaimed, "It's…nuclear?!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the walls surrounding the command center burst open, flooding the room with light before it disappeared. Finally, the lights began to fade and as soon as it was gone, the only thing left of Boaz was an empty void in the middle of space, as the blast had vaporized everything to the point where there wasn't even any debris to be found.

"Well now, that was nice and quick," Azrael said cheerily, despite the fact that he had just watched a storm of nuclear fire consume hundreds of lives, "Looks like even ZAFT's mighty fortresses are simply no match for a few nuclear warheads."

"Director Azrael…" Natarle began.

"Hm?" Azrael blinked, turning to face her, "Yes, Miss Captain?"

"I understand that they were our enemies, but…" Natarle frowned, "Don't you feel the least bit of remorse for using _nuclear_ weapons?"

"You know, I must say, I'm rather surprised to hear that kind of comment coming from a professional soldier. Especially you, Miss Captain," Azrael replied, still grinning cynically, "Why, I'm almost a saint compared to those other commanders who would willingly send out their troops to die while knowing fully well that they're fighting a battle that could never be won." After a brief pause in which Natarle didn't answer, he shrugged and continued, "Now then, where to next? Ah yes…their remaining fortress, the Jachin Due. And then after that, we'll head to their homeland and finish them off once and for all." Sitting back down, he added, "Best get moving now, Miss Captain. I'd like to have won this war before the week is over…"

-----------------------------

"Wha…" Ezalia stuttered as the sight played out on the view screen, "What have they…?"

"Damn those…Natural SCUM!!" Patrick roared, his eyes wide with shock and fury, "One nuclear holocaust wasn't enough for them?!" There was silence for a moment before he wheeled around and ordered, "Creuset! Set up a line of defense immediately! Then, we're going to Jachin Due!"

"Yes sir!" Rau nodded.

"No more playing nice…" Patrick growled, "It's time to use GENESIS…" There was a shocked silence as the other council members glanced at each other in disbelief.

"G-GENESIS?" Ezalia asked, "But your Excellency, that weapon is meant to be used as a last resort! It's too soon to-"

"They're already launching their nukes at us!" Patrick shouted, "If we don't use it now, there won't be another chance! They're bound to target Jachin Due next and then eventually the homeland!"

-----------------------------

"All ships, prepare for immediate departure. All personnel please report to your stations."

"Lacus!" Kira called out as he entered the Eternal's bridge with Athrun and Ryo, all of them in their pilot suits, "Are we moving?"

"Yes," Lacus nodded, "We need to stop them before things get any worse."

"I would ask if things _could_ get any worse," Ryo sighed, "But knowing my luck, they probably would if I did…"

"I still can't believe it," Murrue said on the Archangel, "An all-out nuclear attack…"

"Nothing surprises me anymore. Not after JOSH-A," Mu replied, "But…that guy…"

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"_The final door is about to open, Mu! And I am the one who will open it! And when I do, this world…this world of insatiable desires will come to an end! And all the conceited fools floundering about in it will finally have their wishes come true!"_

-----------------------------

"_I-I have something…a key! A key that's supposed to end this war! So please! Please, help me!"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"So, that was the key to ending the war, huh?" he frowned, "That explains why the Earth Forces weren't doing much these past few months…they were busy attaching N-Jammer Cancellers to their nuclear warheads…"

"I don't think PLANT is going to stand for it this time," Waltfield sighed, "Things are about to get real ugly, especially considering that they have N-Jammer Cancellers too."

"Do you think that…" Kira said as he made a few adjustments to the Freedom's controls, "PLANT will use its own nuclear weapons."

"If my father's in his right mind, then I'm sure they won't, but…" Athrun frowned in the Justice, "I'm not too sure about that right now…"

"Why do things like that exist in the first place?" Kira muttered, "Nuclear weapons…or for that matter, why are there even Mobile Suits and guns?"

"Because that's the way us humans have always lived," Ryo said, "The caveman with the biggest stick was the one in control. In this case, it's whoever can cause the most destruction with a single weapon that's in charge."

-----------------------------

"The diffusing job isn't finished yet?"

"No," Captain Sutherland replied, "It looks like it might take a little longer than expected."

"Oh well, no worries," Azrael shrugged as he dried his hair with a towel, "We have plenty of time before we reach Jachin Due, so let's just take our time and do this in a nice, relaxed manner…" Meanwhile, Natarle was standing in the Dominion's viewing deck, reflecting on the last encounter with the Archangel.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_This isn't just about what happened at Alaska. We no longer have any faith in the Earth Forces in general. No surrender, no return to the military!"_

-----------------------------

"_Don't get me wrong, you're definitely a capable Captain for this ship, but there are still other people who oversee battlefields to strategize and give orders. Besides, weren't you told to listen to my requests? I really would appreciate it if you took that seriously."_

-----------------------------------------------------------

The hissing of the door opening distracted her and she turned to see Flay entering the viewing deck, dressed in her new Earth Forces uniform. "What's the matter?" she asked, "Are you alright?" Flay was silent as she moved to the window and there was a brief silence before Natarle added, "Perhaps…you would have been better off staying at the Lunar Base…even if we fight, there's no guarantee that we'll meet the Archangel again."

"But, I…" Flay said after another pause, "I really…have to see him again." As tears welled up in her eyes, she continued, "Kira…he's alive…so I-I really have to see him…and talk to him and the others…properly this time!"

"Do you want to stay off the bridge?" Natarle asked, "You look scared…and it won't be as frightening if you stay in your sleeping quarters."

"I-I'm terrified! But…I'm just starting to realize now…" Flay sniffed as she recalled the times when she had hid in her sleeping quarters on the Archangel, "Everybody else saw it and understood what was happening as it unfolded…but I…"

"Most people are lucky they don't see these things," Natarle sighed as Flay dissolved into tears and offered her a handkerchief, "From here on, this war is only going to get worse. We're going to see a lot more of what we just witnessed…"

"But…but that man…!" Flay said as she took it and wiped her eyes, "He said…he said that the war was going to end now!"

"Oh, it will end alright. Once every last enemy is destroyed," Natarle replied, "Only then will it end." But even as she said this, she thought to herself, "But…truthfully, I don't even know how much more of this I can take…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

The next day had arrived and the Earth Forces fleet had arrived near the Jachin Due. "Sir, all preparations are complete."

"Alright then," Captain Sutherland nodded, "All ships, launch!" As the Earth Forces began to move, the ZAFT fleet had already assembled between it and the fortress, awaiting their orders to engage.

"The Naturals' barbaric use of nuclear weapons is unforgivable!" Ezalia Joule's voice rang through the speakers of all ZAFT ships and Mobile Suits, "We can not let another strike us!"

"Mother…" Yzak thought as he closed the Duel's cockpit hatch.

"We were considerate enough to not retaliate with a nuclear weapon of our own after the Bloody Valentine," Ezalia continued, "But once again, the Naturals have deceived us!"

"Men! Remember your purpose!" Yzak said into his own comm., "No matter what happens, we must protect the homeland!"

"Yes sir!"

"Good luck, everyone," Yzak nodded, "Joule team, launch!"

"Green 28, Mark 13 Alpha. Distance 352. Main enemy forces advancing!"

"The enemy ships will be in range of our cannons momentarily!"

"All ships, deploy your units and commence firing!" Sutherland ordered, "Don't give them a chance to breathe!"

"Now, brave soldiers of ZAFT, unleash your true power!" Ezalia concluded, "Show them who the new leaders of the world really are!" As her words faded away, explosions were already going up left-and-right as the two sides clashed head-on. Ginns, CGUEs, GuAIZs, Daggers, and Mobius units alike fired unrelentingly at one another, hoping to bring their enemies down.

"Don't bother with these peons!" Yzak shouted as he destroyed a pair of Mobius units with the Duels beam rifle and Shiva railgun, "Find those nukes and take them out!"

"You know…" Shani said as he launched with Orga and Clotho, "I think there are even more of them than last time…"

"Hmph…when are we gonna get a real challenge?" Orga muttered as he fired the Calamity's Schlag cannons, "Blowing these amateurs up is getting boring."

"Who cares?" Clotho shrugged and pulled ahead of the Calamity with Shani, "We've got our orders, so we might as well carry them out."

"Peacemaker unit, begin launching!" Sutherland ordered and waves of nuclear-equipped Mobius units began launching from the Agamemnon-class carriers. Off in the distance, the Three Ships Alliance had arrived and was making their final preparations to sortie.

"I fear that…we may already be too late. But everyone, please…we can not afford to let even one nuclear missile hit the PLANTs," Lacus said as Waltfield glanced at a brass pocket-watch in his hand, "If the blade of light strikes down those who are innocent, it will only lead to never-ending tears and hatred."

"Kira Yamato, Freedom! Let's do this!"

"Athrun Zala, Justice! Launch!"

"Ryo Mouri, Double X! Moving out!"

"Tiffa Adil, launching G-Falcon!"

"Mu la Flaga, launching in Strike!"

"Dearka Elsman, Buster, heading out!"

"METEOR, lift off!" Waltfield ordered and the two gun turrets on either side of the Eternal's prow detached before rotating into a horizontal position. Each one was armed with a pair of 93.7 cm high-energy beam cannons on the sides and 60cm "Erinaceous" anti-ship missile launchers on the sides and tail. The tips of it's two "arms" doubled as 120cm high-energy beam cannons and beam swords, each blade as long as the unit itself.

"The choices we're making may be of evil as well," Lacus continued as the METEORs attached themselves to the backs of the Freedom and Justice, "For we call for peace, but with weapons in our hands." As the METEORs' thrusters began to warm up, she added, "Nevertheless, allow us to break this chain of endless conflict. Give us strength." As the group moved out, the three Biological CPUs were still flying around and causing havoc all over the place as they used their superior machines to destroy countless Ginns, CGUEs, and GuAIZs.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Orga laughed as he destroyed several ZAFT Mobile Suits while Clotho and Shani did the same off to the side, "No need to rush!"

"Dammit…" Yzak growled, "These guys are really getting on my nerves!" With that, he charged at the Raider and fired several shots at it with its beam rifle.

"Eh?" Clotho blinked, "Never seen that one before…" At that moment, Yzak fired all of the weapons that the Duel had in its arsenal at the Raider but before any of his shots could reach it, Clotho responded by rapidly spinning the Mjolnir hammer in front of him and using the beam-resistant wire as a crude shield to repel the attack. As Shani sliced a GuAIZ in half with the Nidhoggr scythe and Orga continued to blast away at the ZAFT forces, Yzak spotted something off in the distance and zoomed in on it with the main camera.

"Shit!" he gaped when he saw what it was, "Those are the nukes!" As the Raider fired its shoulder-mounted machine guns at the Duel, Yzak sped off towards the Peacemaker unit just as the Mobius' began launching their nuclear missiles. "Take out those missiles!" Yzak shouted frantically, "Don't let a single one hit the PLANT!" At his words, numerous amounts of Mobile Suits quickly changed their course and headed towards the missiles' flight path.

"Heh, tough luck!" Orga grinned as he destroyed a pair of Ginns with the Calamity's Schlag cannons. At the same time, three more Ginns were destroyed by a curved beam of plasma energy as the Forbidden appeared behind them.

"Not a chance," Shani smirked, "I wanna see all the pretty lights…"

"Damn!" Yzak swore as he dodged a shot from the Raider, "I don't have time for you!" As this was going on, the Freedom and Justice arrived as the Double X combined with the G-Falcon as an armor-booster. Without a single word, all three pilots activated their multi-targeting computers and zeroed in on as many missiles as they could as the METEOR's missile pods opened up. With all of their guns deployed, all three Mobile Suits unleashed a maelstrom of firepower into the nuclear missile cluster, illuminating the battlefield in a wall of light as the explosions set off the others missiles as well. As everyone turned to look, eyes went wide with shock and some with relief when they saw that not a single PLANT had been hit by them.

"What the…" Orga growled as the Freedom sped by him, "You guys again?!"

"Athrun?" Yzak muttered as the Justice went by as well and turned to see the three ships approaching, "But who's…?"

"Earth Forces," Lacus said into the radio, "Please cease your attack immediately!" At the sound of her words, the ZAFT pilots glanced at one another in confusion and growing hope.

"That voice…"

"Miss Lacus?"

"Lacus Clyne…" Ezalia muttered, "What's she doing here?"

"Do you even really know the reason why you are doing this?" Lacus continued, "I repeat, please cease your attack at once!"

"What's going on here?" Azrael frowned, "Who's that talking?"

"The Archangel…" Natarle muttered, not really paying attention to him at all.

"Well, I guess it doesn't really matter who she is. If she's gonna interfere, then we might as well get rid of her too," Azrael shrugged, "And while we're at it, we'll destroy those pesky Mobile Suits of theirs as well…along with the PLANT."

"Heads up, guys!" Ryo called out as more nuclear missiles were launched, "The second wave's coming your way!"

"Right!" Mu nodded and he quickly flew off with Dearka to intercept them with Yzak following close behind.

"No one's blowing up my home!" Dearka shouted and shot at the missiles with the Buster's combined sniper rifle as the Duel fired its weapons alongside it and the Strike shot at them with its beam rifle, all of them succeeding in hitting a few and setting off a second chain explosion.

-----------------------------

"What's that? Lacus Clyne is here?" Patrick asked from his seat in Jachin Due's command center, "Hmph, how arrogant…no matter, let them fool around all they want. Our preparations are ready."

"GENESIS is entering its final stages. All forces are to withdraw from the line of fire at once!"

"Lift the shroud, Ezalia," Patrick said into a comm., "It's time…"

-----------------------------

"Evacuate from the line of fire?" Yzak blinked as he looked at the message he had just received on a small view screen, "And what the hell is GENESIS?" Despite his confusion, he turned his unit around and started heading back towards the Jachin Due, even as a growing sense of dread began creeping into his stomach.

-----------------------------

"Focal mirror in place. Electromagnetic pressure secured. Deactivating Mirage Colloid!" As the ZAFT forces fell back, an object began to fade into view from behind the Jachin Due. It appeared to be a massive satellite with a mirror in front and a hole in the center. A smaller object that looked like a giant Eiffel tower was positioned in front of the hole and several more were lined up next to it.

-----------------------------

"The ZAFT forces are in full retreat. We've spotted a massive object behind the Jachin Due!"

"What?!"

-----------------------------

"Activating Phase Shift Armor." The GENESIS began to change color, shifting from a dull gray to a bright, almost bluish-steel.

-----------------------------

"Athrun! Dearka! Freedom! Get the hell out of there!" Yzak shouted when he saw that the other units were still in the battlefield, "That thing's going to fire at any minute!"

"What?" Ryo blinked, "That huge thing?"

"But…" Murrue muttered, "What exactly is it?"

-----------------------------

"N-Jammer Canceller activated. Nuclear cartridge aligned with detonation frequency. All systems are green." Several pylons within the GENESIS began to spin as the temperature skyrocketed, illuminating the inside red with heat.

"All you Naturals mark this moment well," Patrick smirked as the mirror began to radiate light, "Let this light usher in the creation of the Coordinators world! Fire GENESIS!" At his words, a blast of nuclear energy surged up through the center and struck the back of the focal mirror, which reflected the beam back at the main mirror in multiple fragments. As the beams intensified, the focal mirror glowed red and the energy built up between the two mirrors before it finally overloaded, sending a single wave of energy straight towards the doomed Earth Forces fleet.

Phase 47- End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Was it? I can't really remember. Anyway, the argument was put in there for comedic relief, so I'm glad that you enjoyed it. None of the Biological CPUs are going to live, seeing as they have little influence on the rest of the story. As I've said before, Tiffa and Ryo probably won't get together for a while, at least not in this story. And as for Azrael, I'm sure he would have a slight interest in the TSC but he would probably prefer his nuclear missiles since in all honesty, they're easier to use and have pretty much the same effect.

Ominae- Judging from your reaction, I'm guessing that you're a Flay supporter. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate her as a character but I've never really taken a keen liking to her. So I apologize if my portrayal of her isn't exactly to your liking.

Weasel Debater- Thank you.

Author's Note: Second cameo appearence in this story.


	49. Day of Wrath

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Phase 48- Day of Wrath

_September 26, C.E. 71, Jachin Due front, L5 Colony Cluster_

General confusion turned to horror as the beam released by GENESIS streaked towards the Earth Alliance fleet, threatening to engulf every ship in its path. "A huge wave of thermal energy is coming right at us!"

"What?! Evade, now!"

"It's too late! We're not gonna make it!" Seconds later, the beam slammed into the front of the fleet, destroying the unfortunate ships that were leading the attack on contact before pushing throughout the remainder of the fleet. The force was so great that ships and Mobile Suits alike were tossed about like dandelion seeds in the wind, causing some to slam into each other as explosions lined the beam.

"Engines hard to port! Angle left 35 degrees!" Natarle shouted, "Get us out of here!" The Dominion's pilot gladly complied and the ship turned around as the other ships fortunate enough to be far enough from the line of fire did the same.

"Oh man…" Clotho muttered as Orga and Shani watched in shock, "That's…insane!" Even the ZAFT forces were appalled by the destruction their own weapon was causing, wondering when such a thing had been built. In fact, the only people who didn't show any signs of concern at all were Patrick Zala and Rau le Creuset, both were even smiling in content as the blast began to thin out. By the time it was over, there was nothing left of the ships that had been hit by GENESIS and the focal mirror was reduced to a smoldering, twisted wreck as waste energy crackled along the weapon's surface.

"This…can't be…" Kira gaped as he sat dumbstruck in the Freedom.

"No…" Athrun muttered, "Father…what have you done?"

"Did that…really just happen?" Ryo said, "They just…"

"Commander Ramius!" Waltfield said, although his image was distorted on the view screen, "All we can do now is retreat! Have all Mobile Suits fall back now!"

-----------------------------

"Statistics are coming in. That blast was at 60 percent charged and half of the enemy fleet has been destroyed."

"That really is quite spectacular, Chairman Zala," Rau said, nodding his head in approval, "I was aware of what this weapon did, but I had never imagined that it possessed so much power…"

"There's no point in a war if you don't win," Patrick replied, "That should give them something to think about…"

-----------------------------

"PLANT ships, please respond!"

"The ILS has been hit! Requesting emergency landing!"

"What about the Teheran? Captain…Lieutenant Badgiruel! This is…"

"Stay calm," Natarle said, even though she was still shaken mentally, "Focus on locating all of our surviving ships. What's the status of the Washington?"

"The Washington's identification code has been lost, ma'am," an officer replied, "Neither the Grant nor the Clark are responding. However, I've confirmed that Captain Sutherland has made it safely to the Doolittle."

"Fire the signal flares. All remaining ships are to begin retreating," Natarle ordered, "Have them follow the Doolittle!"

-----------------------------

"Courageous soldiers of the ZAFT army! We can no longer ignore the growing threat of the arrogant Naturals!" Patrick said as he spoke into a microphone, "Once again, the PLANT has come under the threat of a nuclear attack! This is no longer a war…it is a campaign of extermination!"

-----------------------------

"Fire anti-beam depth charges! Turn 40 to port!" a Captain ordered as the ZAFT forces began pursuing the fleeing Alliance fleet.

"Lohengrin 1 and 2, aim at the enemy flank!" Natarle ordered as the Calamity and Raider finished docking inside the Dominion, "Move 80 to port as soon as we've hit them! Fire!" Two beams of focused positron energy shot from the Dominion's Lohengrin cannons and destroyed several attacking Mobile Suits before hitting a Nazca-class cruiser as well. As the ship turned around, Drake and Nelson-class ships alike fired missiles at the ZAFT forces as they continued to flee and the Strike Daggers rushed back to their mother-ships to dock.

"How could you launch another nuclear strike?!" one Ginn pilot shouted and drew his Ginn's saber before charging forward, slashing a Strike Dagger in two from behind. As the Three Ships Alliance's Mobile Suits began their own withdrawal, Kira looked back and saw the ZAFT forces attacking the Earth Alliance and became angered at the sight.

"Stop it!" he yelled as he removed the Freedom from the METEOR and its shield was ejected from the underside, "They're not fighting anymore!" As he flew off to stop the ZAFT Mobile Suits, Athrun and Ryo saw him and the latter sighed as they turned around to support him. "I said stop!" Kira repeated and fired off several shots from the Freedom's beam rifle and disable several Ginns before the Justice and Double X arrived and began disabling them with their own weapons.

"Freedom! Justice! Double X!" Waltfield shouted, "Pull back now! We're leaving." Even though the ZAFT forces were still attacking, the three pilots turned around and started heading back to the Eternal to dock.

-----------------------------

"We cannot let those savages…those Naturals to take things any further! The light of glory shall shine upon us this day!" Patrick continued, "We shall march down this path and claim the future as our own! Victory is near!" As he finished, a resounding cheer went up amongst the ZAFT army, with chants of "Victory!" growing stronger as the last of the Earth Forces ships faded into the darkness.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Get the emergency management crew! Have all firefighter teams on standby!"

"Just hang in there, alright? Once we patch you up, we'll send you straight home. How does that sound?"

"Hey! Someone take a look at her! Her vitals are slipping!" It had been an hour since the Earth Forces' catastrophic encounter with GENESIS and the remainder of the fleet was hiding out in an asteroid field. All throughout the fleet, maintenance and medical crews were scurrying around as quickly as they could to help the injured pilots and begin repairs on the machines as quickly as possible. The situation was so out of control that even Azrael was beginning to lose his temper.

"Oh really?! That's not exactly good news now is it?!" he shouted into the earpiece he had taken from Flay, "Well that's what you get for letting your upper units wait until now to do it!!"

"Captain, we're receiving a distress signal from the Churchill."

"Alright," Natarle nodded, "Tell them we're on our way."

"Now hold it right there!" Azrael frowned, "We're not going anywhere! A rescue mission! Does this ship have to take care of _everything_?! Obviously it does!"

"Director Azrael!"

"All ships that are still in good condition are to immediately prepare for a second assault!" Azrael said, "Focus on re-supply and maintenance right now!"

"That's absurd! Our troops are in no condition to fight at the moment, especially after what just happened!" Natarle replied, getting out of her seat, "Even _you_ should be able to see that!"

"Reinforcements and supplies from lunar headquarters are going to be arriving at any minute now! We need to start moving immediately if we're gonna have any chance of winning!" Azrael snapped and pointed at a view screen that showed the GENESIS hovering next to the Jachin Due before bringing up a diagram on another screen, "You see that?! We can't just leave that thing sitting there! They're calling us barbarians for using nukes…that thing could hit the Earth from that range; it's by far the most barbaric thing out there! And to add to that, we don't even know when they're gonna aim at Earth and by the time we do, it might already be too late!" He added as a Nelson-class ship suddenly exploded nearby, "It's soldiers like you…who gave them enough time to build that thing in the first place! I don't care what it takes, we have to destroy it and PLANT before the Earth is destroyed!" As Natarle frowned at him, he thought to himself, "Damn those filthy Coordinators…I'm not about to give up after making it this far…I'm gonna win this war! Mark my words!"

-----------------------------

"This is Erica Simmons with a statistics report on GENESIS," Erica said from the Kusanagi to the Eternal, where Murrue and Cagalli had gone to come up with a new plan, "The results of the analysis showed that the thermal energy wave was caused by concentrated gamma rays. They somehow managed to harness the energy of a nuclear explosion and convert it into a solid beam of energy. In other words, it's a colossal gamma ray laser. If the Earth were to be hit by a beam of the same magnitude as this one, the radiation would scorch the surface and wipe out all life on Earth."

"They wouldn't…" Murrue gasped, "They wouldn't target the Earth, would they?"

"It's hard to say at this point," Waltfield sighed as Kira, Athrun, Ryo, and Tiffa entered the bridge, "Both sides have already taken this war to the point of no return." There was a brief silence before he added, "You know, the first time I ever had to actually shoot someone, it churned my stomach. They told me that I'd get used to it in time and after a while, that's exactly what happened."

"Are you saying that using things like that and nuclear missiles is the same thing?" Murrue asked.

"Can you say that they're different?" Waltfield shrugged, "What I'm trying to say is that humans get used to things quickly. Fighting…even killing becomes second nature."

"Is it weapons that are the cause of all this fighting?" Lacus sighed after another silence, "Or does the real cause lie within the human heart?" No one answered, knowing that it was a rhetorical question.

"We can't allow them to launch any more nuclear missiles or GENESIS rays," Kira said, "The moment they do, it'll be all over."

"Yeah," Athrun nodded.

"What is it?" Cagalli asked when she saw Ryo frowning, "Is something wrong?"

"No…" Ryo replied, "It's just…I have this idea, but I'm not too sure you'll like it…"

-----------------------------

"Assault Divisions of Unit 48 and Unit 211 will be under the command of Captain Amagasaki from this point on." Several new ships from the Ptolemaeus Crater Lunar Base had begun to arrive and new orders were being issued to get everyone in order.

"All remaining ships from Unit 15 are to report to the coordinates given from Hind Eye and rendezvous with assault ships from Unit 3.

-----------------------------

"How long until the mirror block is in place?" Patrick asked.

"It should be completely aligned within the next hour."

"Hurry it up," Patrick said, "Any movement from the Earth Forces?"

"No, sir," Rau replied.

"Hmph…" Patrick snorted, "Are they still going to try and attack us instead of returning to their lunar base?"

"They must be desperate now that they've witnessed what GENESIS can do. They might even be waiting for supplies and reinforcements," Rau said, "Shall we attack them first?"

"It doesn't matter," Patrick replied, "Once we've fired again, we'll have won."

"What about the Earth?"

"If they continue to resist even after the lunar base is destroyed, then I will." As this was going on, Yzak was walking around in a smaller base a little ways off from the Jachin Due, having returned with his team a few hours ago. As he wandered throughout the base, he spotted his mother walking with a few high officials and quickly called out to her.

"Yzak!" Ezalia exclaimed happily when she saw him approaching and quickly went over to him, "How are you?"

"I'm well," Yzak replied, "Have you been here long?"

"I have, especially since this is such a critical stage of the battle," Ezalia nodded, "But don't worry. Once GENESIS is fired again, this long war will finally come to an end."

"Um…"

"I'm sure you're tired, but I'm sure it will be over soon," Ezalia smiled, "The future is ours." As she said this, Yzak recalled his conversation with Dearka and then the events of the past few days. Lately, he had begun to think that this was not the glorious war he had thought it would be in the beginning.

"Mother," he started, "About GENESIS…"

"Miss Ezalia," one of the officials said, "We really need to get going."

"Right," Ezalia nodded before saying to her son, "Now don't strain yourself too much out there. I'll see if I can have your team moved farther back from the frontline."

"Mother…"

"You'll have plenty of responsibilities after this is all over and done with," Ezalia finished and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Take care of yourself now…" As she turned to leave, Yzak couldn't help but stiffen at the fact that his mother was still giving him affection in front of other people, especially some of ZAFT's highest officials. Just then, he heard a light snickering coming from behind him and he turned to see several green-coats leaning out from behind a corner.

"You…" he growled and with almost inhuman speed, was in front of them in a matter of seconds, "You saw nothing! Got that?!"

"Y-yes sir!" they replied and gulped, not wanting to make him any angrier.

-----------------------------

"What?!" Kira exclaimed, gazing at Ryo with wide eyes, "Ryo…"

"I know it sounds crazy," Ryo said, "But the way I see it, this is the only way we can stop them."

"But still!" Athrun frowned, "Turning yourself and your Mobile Suit over to ZAFT is too risky!"

"I have to try!" Ryo shot back, "That thing _vaporized_ over 70 warships with a single shot! There's nothing left of those ships now! Not one freakin' nut or bolt! We're lucky enough that they have to replace the mirror block every time they fire!" Only a few moments ago, Ryo had announced his intention to put a very dangerous ploy into motion. He planned to fly out alone into the Jachin Due's airspace and request that the GENESIS be shut down immediately. In return, he was prepared to surrender himself and the Double X to ZAFT.

"We know!" Kira said, "But you can't just expect them to welcome you."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Ryo frowned, "I started this whole mess and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to end it. And if that means giving up my own life to at least save every living thing on Earth, then I'm all for it."

"Ryo…"

"Look, I just want this war to be over. And it's not for my sake," he sighed, "It's for you guys."

"What?"

"You guys are all in this because I made a stupid mistake. Some of you know that, some of you don't," Ryo continued, "And yet even when you did, you gave me support physically and emotionally whenever I needed it most. Even when you knew that this war is all my doing, you never abandoned me." He paused and added, "That's why…that's why I want to end this war as soon as I can…so that you guys can live peacefully again. Even if I can't be around to see that…"

"But Ryo…" Lacus said worriedly, "If you do go, then what will happen to your future?" Ryo paused again before he sighed.

"After everything that's happened because of what I've done…" he replied, "I kind of don't feel like I even deserve a future anymore…"

"Don't say that!" Kira frowned, "You've been fighting all this time to atone for your past! If you die now, it'll all have been for nothing!"

"I know," Ryo nodded, "But if I don't do this, then I'll probably die anyway and then the world would be in an even worse state when I leave it."

"Ryo…"

"Don't try and stop me," he said, "I've made up my mind and I'm going to go through with this. It's for the best…" There was silence on the bridge before he sighed and added, "Well, I'd better go now. The sooner I can convince them, the better, right?" No one replied and he smiled sheepishly before saying, "I guess…I'll see you guys around, then…" With that, he turned and headed for the lift that would take him off the bridge and got on before turning to look at the others as the doors closed. As the lift began its descent, he sighed and leaned against the wall, reflecting on the past few months. "It sure has been a crazy ride…" he thought to himself as he exited the locker room a few minutes later, "But it looks like this might be the end of it…" As he floated up to the Double X's cockpit, he noticed several mechanics saluting him as he went and he figured that they had been told about his plan and so he smiled and raised his hand in his own salute.

"Ryo!" he heard someone call out and he turned to see Tiffa floating towards him from the floor.

"Tiffa?" he blinked and stopped himself just in front of the hatch, "You shouldn't be here. They're going to open the airlocks soon."

"I know, but…" Tiffa panted, having obviously rushed to the hangar as quickly as she could, "I just…I just wanted to…"

"Tiffa," Ryo said, "I already told you guys that I'm going and…?" He was cut off as Tiffa suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, the momentum slightly pushing him back.

"Be careful, okay?" she muttered into his shoulder, "Please don't do anything reckless…" Ryo blinked in surprise but smiled as he gently pulled her off slightly.

"Relax," he said, "I've pulled through worse, haven't I?"

"Yes, but…" Tiffa nodded and tears started to well up in her eyes, "You're going into the heart of the ZAFT army by yourself and…and I…I just don't want anything to happen to you…" Ryo was silent for a moment before he placed a hand on her head.

"Hey, dry those tears…" he smiled, "I can't promise you that I'll come back, but I can promise that I'll do everything I can to make sure that you guys live to see the end of this war."

"But…so many people that I know have died already…" Tiffa sniffed, "I don't want to lose you too…"

"I would never abandon you and the others like that. Ever," Ryo said, "But unless something is done, that weapon will destroy the future that everyone here has been fighting for all this time. I have to stop it." He paused and added, "Look, I'm sorry that I'm putting you through this, but this is something that has to be done."

"I know," Tiffa nodded, wiping her tears away, "But at least try and come back?"

"I can do that," Ryo smiled and put his helmet on before twisting it in place, "You'd better go now." Tiffa nodded and gave him one last hug before pushing off and heading back to the floor.

"Ryo!" she called out and he turned to see her drifting away, "I'll be waiting!" Ryo smiled and nodded before climbing into the Double X's cockpit.

"Well, let's get this over with," he thought and as the locks detached themselves from the Double X's shoulders, he maneuvered it onto the linear catapult as the G-Falcon was moved behind it.

"APU separation confirmed. Course clear. System are all green. Good luck, Ryo."

"And to you too," Ryo nodded as the hatch opened, "Ryo Mouri, launching Double X and G-Falcon!" The catapult activated and shot the Mobile Suit out into space as the G-Falcon followed closely behind. As soon as he was far away enough from the Eternal, he moved the Double X so that it was standing on the G-Falcon like a sub-lift fighter and headed towards the Jachin Due, never activating the Phase Shift Armor.

-----------------------------

"Sir, there's a heat source moving towards us. It's an unidentified Mobile Suit and Mobile Armor."

"Show me," Patrick frowned and looked to a screen as the image appeared.

"Well now…" Rau muttered when he saw it, "This is interesting…"

"Could it be?" Patrick thought to himself, "The Double X…"

-----------------------------

"Attention, ZAFT forces!" Ryo said into his radio, "My name is Ryo Mouri. Some of you may have known my father Oliver Mouri as the former representative of the Junius cluster. I'm requesting a direct feed to Chairman Zala immediately."

-----------------------------

"What's this?" Rau blinked under his mask, "It seems he wishes to have a word with you, Chairman Zala."

"Sir, do you wish to accept?" an officer asked, "He doesn't appear to be making any hostile movements." Patrick thought for a few seconds and then nodded.

"Very well then," he said, "Let's see what he wants."

-----------------------------

One of Ryo's view screens began to crackle and he looked to see Patrick Zala's face appear on it. "Ryo Mouri," he said, "So, it really is you."

"Of course."

"I believe you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes," Ryo nodded, "I wanted to make a bargain with you." Patrick appeared to think for a moment before he looked back up.

"…What kind of a bargain?"

"I want you to shut down GENESIS immediately," Ryo told him, "And remove the mirror block from its alignment."

"And what are you prepared to give in return?" Patrick chuckled, seemingly amused.

"The Double X," Ryo answered, "And myself."

-----------------------------

"Oh ho," Rau mused, "Now this is quite something. What will you do now, Chairman Zala? Will you accept? Turn him away? Or simply shoot him down where he stands. Either way, this will end in your benefit."

"Indeed," Patrick nodded and turned back to the screen, "Alright then, I'm interested. I'll send out a team to retrieve you and the Double X."

"And you'll deactivate GENESIS?"

"But of course."

"Okay," Ryo nodded, "I'll leave it to you, then."

-----------------------------

"This is it," Ryo thought to himself, "I'm either going to live through this or die the moment I set foot in their fortress." Just then, he noticed several blips on his radar and zoomed in to see the Duel approaching him with several GuAIZ's and an odd blue CGUE. "Never seen that before," he muttered, "Must be a prototype…"

"Are you Ryo Mouri?" a voice asked from his speakers, probably from the Duel.

"Yes."

"Then eject your weapons and follow us," the Duel's pilot said and Ryo nodded before having the Double X release its beam rifle, shield, and beam swords before the GuAIZ's grabbed them and flew back towards the Jachin Due. Now unarmed, Ryo began moving them as the Duel kept its beam rifle aimed at his cockpit. After a few minutes of flying, he was directed to a side gate where the GuAIZs had gone through already and landed inside the hangar there. When he removed his helmet and opened the cockpit hatch, he immediately found himself face to face with several assault rifle barrels and put his hands up as he exited.

"Put your guns down," a voice said and he glanced to the right to see the Duel's pilot emerging from his cockpit, "We were ordered to bring him to the Chairman's office without incident."

"Yes sir." As the soldiers lowered their guns, Ryo couldn't help but find the Duel's platinum hair to be oddly familiar. Apparently, he thought the same because he began to look at him in a suspicious way.

"Hold on a second…" he frowned, "You're Ryo Mouri?"

"Yes…"

"I've seen you somewhere," the fair-head said, "I think in ORB…yeah, you were with the guy that Athrun gave that weird bird-thing back to…"

"Now I remember…" Ryo thought, "He's one of Athrun's old teammates…"

-----------------------------

"Commander, something's happening to the GENESIS!"

"What is it?" Waltfield asked, "What's going on?"

"I dunno," Dacosta frowned, looking at his screen, "Looks like it's shutting down." Everyone looked at the main view screen as the super weapon began to turn grey and the mirror block started moving away from its front as the Phase Shift armor turned off.

"I don't believe it," Murrue gaped, "He actually did it…"

"Ryo…" Kira muttered, "How…?"

-----------------------------

"Anyway, we're supposed to take you down to the Chairman's office if you weren't paying attention," the pilot continued, "Let's go." Ryo nodded and began to walk after him as the other soldiers followed them with their guns still drawn. As they walked, he couldn't help but notice that the pilot's silver hair rather unnatural. Granted, Lacus and Athrun had pink and blue hair respectively but Ryo had never seen anyone with silver hair at this age. "You're wondering about my hair, aren't you?" the pilot suddenly asked and Ryo blinked at this.

"Um…"

"Forget it, everyone does," the pilot said, "It runs in the family, okay?"

"Right…" Ryo blinked and the rest of the trip was relatively silent. Eventually, they reached a pair of wooden doors but when he looked closer, he saw that they were actually automated.

"Excuse us," the Duel's pilot said and the door hissed open to reveal a fairly lit room, with Patrick Zala sitting at a desk on the other side, "We've brought Ryo Mouri, sir."

"Good," Patrick nodded, "You may leave." The pilot nodded and saluted before turning and heading out the door with the others, leaving Ryo alone with the Chairman. "Well," he began, "It's been a while since we've seen each other face to face, hasn't it?"

"More or less," Ryo nodded.

"Why don't you sit down?" Patrick suggested and gestured to a nearby chair, which Ryo hesitantly sat in after a few seconds. "Now then," he said, "What exactly inspired you to take such…drastic actions?"

"This war's been going on for far too long," Ryo sighed, "I only wanted to do whatever I could to end it as quickly as possible and lessen the casualties if possible." Patrick nodded before Ryo asked him, "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Blame the Naturals for what happened at Junius 7," Ryo said, "You knew what really happened that day and yet you gave a false report saying that the colony was destroyed by a nuclear missile."

"The Naturals are a threat to our existence," Patrick replied, "You've seen what groups like Blue Cosmos have done."

"But not all Naturals are like Blue Cosmos! Some of my closest friends are Naturals!" Ryo told him, "And even though they were supposedly involved with the attack, that doesn't give you an excuse to flat-out lie to the general public about how Junius 7 was destroyed!"

"They were going to destroy that colony whether you were there or not," Patrick frowned, "That's how they work. I needed a reason."

"But you deceived the people that you're supposed to be protecting! You did everything you could to convince them that it was the Naturals' fault!" Ryo said, "You even had Siegel Clyne assassinated because he didn't believe in the same cause as you!"

"It had to be done," Patrick sighed, "If we didn't escalate our war efforts, we would have been over come long ago."

"But still…!"

"Let's not talk about the past, shall we?" Patrick suddenly said, "Why don't we focus on what's going on now?" Ryo blinked, not expecting the change in subject.

"What…"

"I'm fully aware of what the Double X is capable of," he added, "I had a hand in its design, you know."

"What are you getting at?" Ryo frowned, not liking the way this was going.

"I want you to join me," Patrick said, "We can crush the Earth Forces together and bring peace back into the world."

"No way," Ryo replied immediately, "Athrun told me about your goals. You just want to use me and the Double X to kill off all the Naturals, don't you?"

"Ryo, your parents were good friends of mine," Patrick sighed, "I want to help you, but I need your help in return. Think about it. We can create a new world without war. I'll even grant you full pardon for what happened at Junius 7." Ryo was silent before standing up and looking Patrick square in the eye.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said firmly, "I'd rather face the consequences of my actions in a world where Naturals and Coordinators can coexist than prosper in a world achieved by genocide." Patrick looked at him for a moment and then sighed.

"If that is your answer," he frowned, "Then I'm afraid I have no other choice…" He pressed a button under his desk and the door hissed open before several guards rushed in, two of them grabbing Ryo's arms.

"What are you planning, Zala?" Ryo demanded, "What's this all about?"

"If you won't cooperate, then I'll have to take matters into my own hands," Patrick replied before pressing a second button, "Creuset."

"Yes sir?" Rau's voice said over the intercom.

"We're going back to the original plan," Patrick said, "Give the order to start up GENESIS again."

"What?!" Ryo exclaimed and struggled against the guards, "You lying son of a-!" He was suddenly cut off when a guard slammed the butt of his assault rifle into his stomach and his eyes went wide as the wind was forced out of him rapidly before they closed again and he slumped down.

"Take him away," Patrick sighed and as the guards left, he thought to himself, "Forgive me, old friend…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Kira?" Lacus said as she opened the door to his room to find him staring out the window, "Are you okay?"

"…I'm worried, Lacus," Kira sighed, "It's been three days since Ryo left and I haven't stopped thinking that something might've gone wrong. Especially ever since GENESIS re-activated."

"I know," Lacus nodded, "I'm worried too. But we have to have faith in him, Kira. He's in Patrick Zala's hands now."

"That's why I'm worried," Kira frowned, "Athrun told me about the last time he saw his father and how he was acting…oh, what could've possibly happened?!" Lacus sighed, knowing that there was little she could do to ease his anxiety. In truth, everyone else was worried about the young pilot as well, especially Athrun, Cagalli, Tiffa, and most of the Archangel's crew; even Dearka was beginning to get anxious about his whereabouts. Looking around the room, she spotted the photo that Kira had brought back from the Mendel colony and picked it up.

"She has a very kind smile," Lacus said after a while, "Do you know her?"

"No, but Ryo told me that he saw her in a vision back in the labs," Kira replied, glad for the change in subject, "He said her name was Via. Via Hibiki, I think. She's supposedly my real mother."

"Oh?" Lacus blinked, "What about your father?"

"I think he saw him too," Kira said, "His name was Ulen or something along those lines."

"I see…" Lacus nodded and looked back at the photo, "So…does that mean that you were adopted?"

"I'm…not too sure," Kira sighed as he remembered what Rau had told him in the labs, "In fact, I'm not even too sure about what I am…or if I really do belong in this world." There was a brief silence as Lacus put the photo down and then started fidgeting with a ring on her left hand.

"My mother once told me when I was young…" she began, "That the world belongs to you as much as you belong to the world. For you are born, and that alone gives you the right to exist." As Kira gazed at her in amazement, she smiled and added, "You know, ever since I met you…I've become a much happier woman."

"Lacus…" Kira blinked, feeling his cheeks heat up at her words.

"I want you to stay, Kira," Lacus said softly as she put her head on his shoulder, "Here with me…" Kira looked at her in confusion but eventually smiled and placed his arm around her shoulders, allowing the two to drift around in content.

-----------------------------

Ryo, on the other hand, wasn't in as comfortable of a position at the moment. After being knocked unconscious, he had been thrown in a cell isolated from the rest of the base. There was little light and to make things worse, his pilot suit had been confiscated and he was constantly shivering due to lack of heat. "Well, I guess I kind of asked for this when I thought this would be a good idea," he muttered to himself bitterly, "But I still wish they could've at least given me some long sleeves…"

"Still complaining, I see…"

"Oh God, kill me _now_…" Ryo groaned when he heard the voice and turned to see a familiar looking old man standing in the middle of his cell, "What the hell do you want this time? Come to ask me more stupid questions or throw knives at me again?"

"On the contrary," the old man chuckled, "I've come to bring you news."

"And what's that?" Ryo asked cynically as he turned away, "The world's gonna end soon? Already heard that one."

"You will be released soon," he replied and Ryo slowly turned back around, slightly interested this time, "And when you are, the final stages of this war will begin, which you will take part in."

"Are you kidding?" Ryo frowned, "My Mobile Suit's been confiscated and I don't even have a pilot suit! How am I supposed to fight without them?"

"You'll see…" the man replied and before Ryo could say another word, he stepped back into a shadow and was gone.

"Great…" Ryo sighed, "He could've at least told me when he's gonna show up again so that I can knock myself out with something before he does…" He stopped talking when he heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see a few guards walk in front of his cell.

"Are you Ryo Mouri?" one of them asked.

"The one and only," he replied, "Does anyone else need to know?"

"Good, get up and put this on," the guard said and quickly unlocked his door before slipping something through it. Ryo cautiously reached out and took it before realizing that it was his pilot suit.

"Wait a minute," he frowned, "How…"

"We're from the Clyne Faction," another guard told him, "We've been trying to find a way to get you out of here and we finally managed to get everything in place a few hours ago."

"Well, if you're here to get me out, then I guess I'll have to follow you," Ryo shrugged as he slipped into his pilot suit, "Alright then, lead the way."

"There's a hidden passage that only a few people know about somewhere further down this hallway," the guard whispered as they floated down the hallway, "It'll take us straight to the hangar where your Mobile Suit is being kept."

"Oh, and just as a heads-up," another added, "They've made a few additions to it, so be prepared to carry a few more things…" Ryo nodded slowly but was still a bit confused by what the guard had said.

"Additions?" he thought to himself as they reached a door, "What could they have possibly added to it? It's got enough weapons as it is…" His thoughts were interrupted when the door hissed open and the guards ushered him inside. There were no lights on and for a few moments, Ryo stood there looking around and trying to make out a familiar shape in the gloom. "Hey, are you sure we're in the right place?" he asked.

"Yeah, this is it," a guard replied, "The lights should be right…here." There was a click and the entire hangar lit up to reveal the Double X standing in the center of the floor, the G-Falcon attached in armor booster mode. Ryo could immediately see what the guards were talking about; a small rack had been attached to the Double X's rear skirt armor and was holding a small grenade launcher, a larger beam sword handle, and what appeared to be a white, slightly smaller version of the Raider's Mjolnir hammer. The G-Falcon had received a weapon upgrade as well; it now featured four beam cannons and several small missile pods were attached to the wings. The edges of the wings now had slight indents in them and although Ryo was a bit skeptical, he figured that they had some kind of use.

What really caught his attention, though, were the objects behind the Double X. Standing behind his machine was a large number of smaller Mobile Suits, each resembling the original X Gundam in general build. Instead of an energy collector, however, there were several sensor extenders arranged in a cross pattern on its chest and its head comprised of the lower part of the helm and an opaque blue visor filling in the rest. Aside from this and the fact that its armor was a shade darker than the original X Gundam, it still had all of its physical features and most of its weapons, with only the shoulder-mounted Igelstellung missing; they even had the wings and Satellite Cannon mounted on their backs. Each one had a number ranging from 1 to 50 on the front of its left shoulder pad and it seemed that these number determined which unit was which. "So," Ryo said, "What exactly are those things?"

"We don't know," a guard replied, "But we heard that the data's been downloaded into your unit's databanks, so you can check when you start it up."

"Oh, almost forgot," another said and pulled something out from behind him, "You'll need these." Ryo looked and saw that he was holding the control stick to the Double X and another flash drive, which he guessed was the one that he needed.

"Thanks," Ryo nodded and took them, "You guys had better get out of here. I'll probably be blasting my way out and I don't think you want to be around when that starts happening." The guards chuckled a bit before exiting the hangar, leaving Ryo to head up to the Double X's cockpit and enter before starting up the O.S. "Alright then," he muttered as he buckled himself in and looked into the database, "Let's see what we have here…" Moments later, an image of the units appeared on the screen, along with technical data and schematics. "FX-9900 GX-Bit…" he read from the screen, "Only for use by Newtypes operating 'Flash System'…that's new…" As it turned out, the GX-Bits were actually remote weapons built specifically for use by the Double X. The Flash System, which could somehow read a Newtype's brainwaves, would send signals to the receivers in the Bits' heads and control their movements based on where the pilot wanted them to go. "Geeze…" he muttered when he realized just what they did, "This thing has its own army as a weapon…"

All of a sudden, klaxons began going off inside the hangar and he realized that he had stayed for too long. He quickly started up all of the other systems and then realized that he had no idea of how he was supposed to get the GX-Bits to move. "It said that I control them with my thoughts…" he said as he turned on the Phase Shift armor, "Well, here goes nothing…" With that, he focused and thought _Move_. He felt a familiar tugging in his skull and behind him, the visors on the GX-Bits' heads flashed briefly before they all reached back and pulled out their beam rifles before resuming their previous position. "Whoa…" Ryo muttered, having watched the whole thing, "I might actually get to like this…" Remembering that he had to get back to the Eternal, he looked up and willed _Follow_ before aiming the Double X's beam rifle at the airlock and firing a few times to destroy it. Even before the smoke had cleared, the Double X was already flying out into space, with the GX-Bits close behind.

-----------------------------

"Sir! There was just an explosion in the secret hangar! The Double X and all other units have disappeared!"

"What?! Stop those units at once!"

"Yes sir!"

-----------------------------

"Uh oh," Ryo muttered when he saw the blips on his radar drawing closer, "This could be trouble…" Even though he was making his way back to the Eternal at full speed, the Jachin Defense Forces were closing in on all sides and he knew that he was eventually going to have to fight his way out. _Counter-attack_ he thought _Do not aim for torso_. At his command, the GX-Bits broke formation and began attacking the approaching Ginns, shooting off limbs and heads all around as Ryo continued to fly through the Defense Force.

"W-What the hell?!" a pilot exclaimed as his Ginn was dismantled by beam rifle fire, "Who are these guys?" As the Defense Force began to draw back, Ryo saw his chance to escape and quickly called the Bits back to him before transforming the Double X into Mobile Armor mode and gunning the thrusters in the direction of the Eternal.

-----------------------------

"Commander Waltfield, we're detecting multiple heat signatures headed our way," Dacosta said, "One's a Mobile Suit, the others are unknown."

"Show me," Waltfield frowned and everyone looked to the screen as the image appeared, "Hey, isn't that…?"

"…Eternal! This is…le X! Is any…there?!"

"Ryo?" Lacus blinked, looking up from her seat, "That sounded like Ryo's voice!"

"Isolate that signal!" Waltfield ordered before saying, "This is Andrew Waltfield from the Eternal. Is that you, kid?"

"Commander Waltfield! Lacus!" Ryo exclaimed with relief as his face appeared on the view screen, "Good to see everyone's still in one piece!"

"I could say the same for you," Waltfield chuckled, "What took ya' so long?"

"I got a little held up," Ryo shrugged, "A few days in a holding cell, nothing major."

"Well, we are very glad you're safe," Lacus smiled, "But what are those things behind you?"

"I'll explain later," Ryo said, "Right now, I think I'd like to dock and get back on board if it's not much trouble. Do you think you can fit all of these in there?"

"We should be able to get most of them in," Lacus nodded, "But you may need to leave a few on the hull."

"That's fine," Ryo smiled, "I'll meet up with you guys when I get inside."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Remote control?" Kira blinked as he walked to the bridge with Ryo, Tiffa, and Athrun, all four in their pilot suits, hours later, "That sounds awfully complex, even for that kind of operating system."

"I still don't really get it either," Ryo said, "Apparently, it reads my brainwaves and then transmits them to the Bits to give them commands."

"So they respond to your thoughts?" Athrun asked from his other side.

"That's what I'm guessing," Ryo nodded as they entered the lift, "But it kind of makes you wonder what other kinds of secret weapons ZAFT is hiding. Giant super-lasers, remote-controlled Mobile Suits…I wouldn't be surprised if they started building over-sized, artillery-specific machines soon." After a few more minutes, the lift opened up to reveal Waltfield, Murrue, Lacus, and Cagalli all standing near a table as they viewed a diagram of GENESIS on a screen.

"The main problem is going to be its Phase Shift armor. Not to mention that we'll have to go through Jachin Due and its defenses before we can even begin to worry about GENESIS," Waltfield said, "The Earth Forces are gonna be there to fight too, so this really isn't going to be easy…"

"Hey! Ryo!" Cagalli called out when she noticed them approaching, "You're back!" The others looked up as Ryo smiled and scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion.

"Yeah, I am," he smiled before turning to Murrue, "How are things on the Archangel?"

"Going smoothly, which I'm glad of," Murrue said, "It's good to see you're safe." Ryo nodded before he turned back to Waltfield.

"Any new developments?"

"It looks like they're still realigning the mirror block," Waltfield replied, "So you ended up buying us some time after all, kid."

"Glad I at least got something done," Ryo sighed, "Do you know how much longer it'll take to get into position? Or where they're targeting next?"

"I'm afraid it won't be much longer now," Waltfield frowned, "They'll be done within the hour at this rate. Judging from their position…it's likely that they're gonna aim for the Earth Forces' Lunar Base."

"The Earth Forces…" Tiffa said, "They're gonna use nuclear weapons again, aren't they?"

"Yes," Murrue nodded, "The ones we destroyed at the last battle couldn't have been all of them…"

-----------------------------

"All preparations are complete," an officer on the Dominion said, "We're good to go." Having waited for a few days, the Earth Forces fleet was finally ready for a second assault now that supplies and reinforcements had arrived, with a second wave of reinforcements already en route to meet them at the battlefield.

"All ships, launch!" Natarle ordered and the ships began to head towards the Jachin Due one by one, this time with no intention of retreating.

-----------------------------

"Alert! The Earth Forces have begun moving!" Miriallia called into her headset to broadcast the message to the Eternal and Kusanagi as well.

"All ships prepare to launch!" the loudspeaker blared as the klaxons began to sound, "Repeat, all ships prepare to launch!"

"Guess that's our cue," Ryo shrugged and headed to the lift with Murrue, Athrun, Cagalli, and Tiffa close behind. Kira began to follow as well but was stopped when Lacus touched his arm.

"Kira…"

"Lacus?" he blinked before glancing back at the others. The only reply was a knowing smile from Athrun from the somewhat cramped lift before the doors closed. There was a brief pause before Lacus fiddled with her hand before holding something up to him.

"Take this with you," she said as he took it, "For luck." Kira looked at the object and realized with surprise that it was actually the ring that she had been wearing before. Meanwhile, the lift had reached the bottom floor and Athrun, Ryo, Tiffa, and Cagalli got out to head to their destinations. As they floated down the hallway, Athrun noticed Cagalli looking at him and turned to face her as well.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Cagalli smiled before looking ahead again, "It's just that this time, I can go out to fight too."

"Is that so?" Ryo blinked.

"Yup," Cagalli nodded, "We brought the parts for the Strike Rouge up with us from ORB and they just finished putting it together a little while after you left." When they reached a division in the paths near a window, Cagalli turned to go to the locker room and added, "Well, I'm gonna go get my pilot suit on. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"W-Wait a minute!" Athrun exclaimed and grabbed her sleeve, "Cagalli, wait." As Cagalli looked back at him in surprise, Kira had gotten into the lift and Lacus was with him to see him off.

"Thanks," Kira smiled and held her ring up to emphasize, "For this…"

"Please come back safely, Kira," Lacus said, "Come back…to us. To me." Kira nodded as the doors opened and he got out to leave. "Kira!" Lacus suddenly added and the brunette turned back, still smiling. Lacus suddenly found herself unable to speak and could only manage, "I…um, I…" Kira's smile broadened a bit before he leaned in a gave Lacus a kiss on the cheek. She gasped a bit at the sensation of his lips on her skin and she was sure that he could feel her face heating up. As for Kira, he was lost in the softness of her cheek and for a brief moment, wished that he could just forsake the whole war and stay with her, even if it was right in front of the lift. Eventually, though, he realized that the battle was not going to wait for him and that he needed to go. There would be time after the war.

"Um…" Kira said, still smiling sheepishly as he drew back, equally red in the face, "You…You be careful too, Lacus…" And with that, he turned and started down the hallway to get to the hangar.

"Kira!" Lacus called out again but he was already too far away to hear and so all she could do was watch him until he turned the corner before going back into the lift to return to the bridge. As the doors closed, Athrun had pulled Cagalli back, looking at her in a confused way.

"You're going out?" he frowned, "And what's this about the Strike Rouge?"

"Yes, I am," Cagalli replied, "I've already done plenty of simulations…and I'm way better than the Astray pilots."

"Not to argue or anything, but…" Ryo started, "Are you sure that taking that Mobile Suit out into battle is a really good idea when they just finished building it a few days ago?"

"Relax," Cagalli said, "I know what I'm doing."

"But…"

"What we hope for…what we want…and what we have to do to achieve it…it's all the same, right?" Cagalli suddenly asked as she looked out the window, "For you guys, Kira, Lacus…and me too."

"Cagalli…"

"There are some things that won't be solved, even if we fight," Cagalli added, "But now that we've come this far, all we can do is go for it and hope for the best."

"Well, if you're that committed, then I guess we can't stop you," Ryo shrugged.

"But Ryo!" Athrun exclaimed, "She…"

"Don't worry, Athrun, she's a big girl," Ryo smiled before turning to leave, "She can take care of herself."

"Yeah, see?" Cagalli smirked as Ryo and Tiffa began floating away before she frowned and shouted, "Hey! Just what are you implying?!" Ryo's only response was to look back and laugh a bit before disappearing around a turn. "Ugh! That guy…" Cagalli muttered before turning to see a rather anxious look on Athrun's face, "Hey, stop looking at me like that. If anything, I should be the one worried for you…you take way more risks than I ever would…"

"Cagalli…"

"I…I won't let you die out there…any of you," Cagalli said as she pulled away from Athrun's grasp, "And I'll be watching over that guy who just might be my little brother too."

"_Little_ brother?" Athrun asked, an amused smile forming on his face.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Oh, I dunno," Athrun smiled, "Couldn't he be, you know, your _big_ brother?"

"No way!" Cagalli scowled, "He's definitely younger! Just look at him!"

"…Yeah, you're right," Athrun nodded before reaching out and pulling Cagalli into a hug.

"A-Athrun…?" Cagalli stammered, feeling herself blush, "What…?" Athrun said nothing for a minute or two, holding the embrace for a while before pulling back a bit.

"I'm…very glad to have met you…Cagalli," Athrun said and then added as he slowly leaned in, "And…I'll be protecting you too…" As soon as Cagalli saw his eyes start to close, she realized with shock what was about to happen.

"Oh God…oh God, oh God!" she thought frantically as her blush grew even deeper, "He's…he's going to…" Cagalli was barely finished mentally freaking out when she felt something soft on her lips and in an instant, her mind drew a complete blank. She barely registered the fact that they were steadily drifting upward as she slowly closed her own eyes and when their heads gently bumped on the ceiling, it was as if she didn't feel it at all. All she knew was that at the immediate moment, Athrun Zala, Kira's best friend, the son of the current PLANT Supreme Council Chairman, and a boy she had almost killed on several occasions, was holding her hands and kissing her without any other care in the world.

-----------------------------

"So you have a basic understanding of how the new additions work, right?" Ryo asked as he entered the hangar with Tiffa before adding, "I mean, it's alright if you don't, I'm just asking."

"No, I'll be okay," Tiffa nodded, "It shouldn't take too long to get used to it." They were silent for a while and then stopped when they were just in front of the Double X.

"Well," Ryo smiled, "Good luck to you, then."

"Yeah," Tiffa replied, "You too." The two were silent for a while as they walked through the hangar before Tiffa held something up, "I…I hope you don't mind that I brought this…" Ryo looked to see that she was holding a familiar looking music box and he couldn't help but feel amazed that it had been so long since he had recovered the object and entrusted it to Tiffa's care.

"It's fine," Ryo said and thought to himself, "We'll need all the help we can get…"

"I'm worried…" Tiffa muttered, "I feel that we may lose many people."

"Yeah," Ryo frowned, "But…hopefully, we can prevent that. That's why we're here after all…to keep the casualties as low as possible…" Tiffa nodded and seemed to ponder something before looking at the mechanics making the final preparations.

"Ryo?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think…" she began, "That the war will be over after this?"

"I sure hope so," Ryo said, "And from the way things have been going, it just might be. Now that both sides have their own weapons of mass destruction at hand, it's all going to depend on who finishes who off with them first. Either way, the only way either of them can win is by completely wiping out the other side."

"But we'll stop them, won't we?" Tiffa asked worriedly, "We'll stop them before it goes that far?"

"We can only pray we can," Ryo sighed, "But…let's not think about what might happen. The best thing to do now is focus on what we want to happen."

"I guess you're right," Tiffa smiled, "Well, we'd better get ready to launch."

"Yeah," Ryo nodded and he patted her shoulder before pushing off the floor towards the Double X's cockpit. Even as he floated up, however, he thought to himself, "Even so…we're going to have to prepare for the worst as well…"

-----------------------------

"All units assume formation Noh and then switch to Alpha Sigma!" The battle had already started and explosions were flaring up all around as both sides exchanged fire.

"Load all missile tubes with Sledgehammers and ready the Gottfrieds!" Natarle ordered as the three Biological CPUs launched as well, "Fire!"

-----------------------------

"Both armies have initiated combat," Miriallia said as the three ships approached the battlefield. Inside each one, the pilots entered their machines to prepare for the battle ahead.

"Freedom, Justice, Double X, and G-Falcon, stand-by to launch."

"Final inspection of MBF-02 Strike Rouge complete. Power extender functionality is normal," Erica said on the Kusanagi as Cagalli entered the Strike Rouge's cockpit in her custom pilot suit, "Please note that pilot is a rookie and confirm the support of on-board AI."

"So they want us to stop GENESIS and the nukes while we're fighting at the same time?" Dearka sighed in his cockpit as he talked to Miriallia, "I know these machines are the best out there, but come on, that's asking a bit much…"

"Then why don't you just give up?" Miriallia frowned and cut the line.

"H-Hey!" Dearka exclaimed, even though the screen was blank, "I didn't mean…"

"Just kidding, I'm sorry," Miriallia smiled as she reappeared on the screen before adding, "Be…be careful out there…" Dearka was surprised to hear this but smiled anyway.

"Thanks, I will."

"There's bound to be a detached force holding the nuclear missiles," Waltfield said, "Focus on finding them and taking them out first." Back on the Archangel, Mu was making a few last-minute adjustments of his own when he heard a beeping sound and a small screen appeared on his monitor to show Murrue just outside the cockpit. Realizing she wanted to talk, he quickly pulled off his helmet and undid the harness before opening the hatch.

"I thought I wouldn't make it in time," Murrue said as he climbed out.

"What're you talking about, silly?" Mu chuckled and as Murrue smiled as well, he noticed a coffin-shaped pendant with a rose decoration on her neck. "So," he said as he held it to get a closer look, although he already knew what it was for, "He was a Mobile Armor pilot, huh?"

"…Yes," Murrue nodded, turning away slightly.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll be right back," Mu smiled and turned Murrue back to face him, "With victory in hand." Murrue returned the smile before the two leaned in and kissed, holding each other tightly to savor the moment.

-----------------------------

"The mirror block is in place."

"Good," Patrick nodded, "Our target is the moon surface, Ptolemaeus crater. The Earth Forces' Lunar Base." As the order was relayed throughout the command center, he turned to Rau and asked, "Where are their reinforcements coming from?"

"Green Alpha 5, Mark 3."

"We win, Naturals…" Patrick thought to himself with a smirk.

"They're breaking through Area 7!"

"Tell them to hold out," he replied, "It won't be much longer."

"Then I shall go out as well," Rau said.

"Go ahead," Patrick nodded but as Rau began to leave, he added, "Creuset, I'm only going to say this once. No more blunders." As Rau paused to listen, he continued, "To make up for not destroying the Eternal, the least you can do is prevent them from attacking the PLANTs with it."

"Even if that means killing Athrun, your Excellency?" Patrick grimaced at the words but retained his former posture quickly.

"Of course!"

"Very well then, sir," Rau nodded, mentally smirking as he saluted, "Excuse me." As he left, Patrick couldn't help but let his fists shake as he silently hoped that Rau's words would not come to pass.

-----------------------------

"Orange 25, Mark 12, at Alpha," Miriallia said, "It's the Dominion!"

"All Mobile Suits, please launch!" Lacus ordered.

"All Mobile Suits, launch!" Waltfield repeated.

"Mu la Flaga, launching in Strike!"

"Strike, launch!"

"Dearka Elsman, Buster, heading out!"

"Buster, launch!"

"Strike Rouge, launching!" As soon as the Mobile Suit was clear of the Kusanagi, Cagalli activated its Phase Shift armor, turning the Mobile Suit red and pink as the eye-pieces turned green and the Aile Striker pack it was wearing unfolded.

"Athrun Zala, Justice! Launching!"

"Tiffa Adil, launching G-Falcon!"

"Ryo Mouri, Double X! Here we go!"

"Kira Yamato, Freedom! Let's do this!"

"METEOR, lift off!" Lacus said as the METEOR's detached and docked with the Freedom and Justice while the G-Falcon attached to the Double X as an armor booster.

_Units 1 through 25, follow and disable all hostiles_ Ryo thought _Units 26 through 50, stay behind and defend all friendly units but shoot to disable only_. With the mental command given, 25 GX-Bits flew after the Double X as if followed the others and the remaining Bits remained with the ships and the Astray units, beam rifles at the ready.

-----------------------------

"Starting the countdown. Advising all friendly ships to withdraw from line of fire immediately." As GENESIS prepared to fire, Rau swallowed a few pills, having put on his custom white and violet pilot suit, before grabbing his helmet and leaving for the hangar. A few minutes later, he was seated in his new unit, the ZGMF-X13A Providence. Like the other ZGMF-X models, it was equipped with an N-Jammer Canceller and thus powered by a nuclear reactor. The suit itself was heavily armored, with its shoulder guards as long as its lower legs and a round shell-like piece on its back. Its main weapons composed of Picus guns in its head, a large "Judicium" beam rifle (so large, in fact, that it was carried not unlike a bazooka) and a composite armed shield system that featured a pair of beam guns and a large beam saber. Its most devastating feature, however, was its DRAGOON system: eleven remote-controlled weapon pods similar to those of the Mobius Zero but operated via quantum communications and immune to the disruptions of N-Jammers. Three of them were cone-shaped and featured nine beam guns on each and were mounted on the backpack, one on each side and one of the top. The other eight were more flat and had only two larger beam guns on each, one between each cone-shaped pod on the backpack and the other six made the side and rear skirt armor. These weapons featured their own boosters but could only be operated by someone possessing near superhuman abilities of spatial awareness. Naturally, Rau was the best candidate they had and it had been assigned to him as his personal unit.

"I'll give it a try. Anything that man can do, I'm sure I could do just as well," Rau smirked, remembering Mu's use of the Mobius Zero's wired gun-barrels, "This is Rau le Creuset. Providence, taking off!" As the Providence's eyes flashed green, the final preparations were made to GENESIS and it was soon ready to fire.

"Activating N-Jammer Canceller, connecting to nuclear cartridge. All systems are green!"

"Fire!" Patrick ordered and as the Providence sped out into the battlefield, its dark gray and navy Phase Shift armor activated, GENESIS began to build up power before unleashing its second shot towards the surface of the moon.

Phase 48- End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Remember, Natarle wasn't there when Mu began piloting the Strike and most likely thought he was still a Mobile Armor/Skygrasper pilot. The best explanation would be that she saw the G-Falcon and instantly assumed it was Mu, considering he was the only Mobile Armor pilot on the Archangel. And I do plan on featuring the TSC again before the story is over.

Weasel Debater: Yes.

Ominae: Well, I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinions.

Master OmegaOmni: Thank you.

Author's note: I'm not really too sure about this chapter…the whole thing about Ryo's plan felt a bit unrealistic even when I was writing it. So if you didn't like that part too much, then I'll understand perfectly. Also, in case you haven't figured it out already, Ryo's mental commands to the GX-Bits will be done in _italics_ without quotation marks.


	50. The Final Light

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

Author's note- These last two chapters will have some noticeable changes added to them. Keep your eyes out. And yes, they will mostly be significant to the plot.

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Phase 49- The Final Light

_September 26, C.E. 71, Jachin Due front, L5 Colony Cluster_

"Watch out!" Ryo shouted as the GENESIS fired, "Here it comes!" Everyone quickly moved off to the side to escape the blast but it was already too late for most of the Earth Forces reinforcements coming from the moon.

"Dammit," Natarle swore when she saw the beam, "Calculate that beam's trajectory!"

"Analyzing," the CIC officer said, "That weapon is being fired…at the Lunar Base!" As Natarle gasped, the incoming reinforcements began to notice the beam of gamma radiation heading straight for them.

"Captain! There's a massive surge of thermal energy coming right at us!" By then, however, the beam had already struck the fleet and because of the additional power it had used, the effects were similar to those of a Cyclops bomb in that it super-heated the water inside their bodies, causing them to burst before the ships themselves began to explode. And even as most of the fleet was disintegrated, the blast kept on heading towards its target, the Lunar Base in Ptolemaeus Crater. Nothing was spared as it hit, as personnel, ships, and buildings alike were demolished by the sheer power of the weapon. Finally, as the beam fizzled out, Ptolemaeus Crater was reduced to a smoldering fireball, consuming everything else that hadn't been hit by the initial blast. All in all, the entire ordeal had taken fewer than two minutes. And from his viewpoint in the newly launched Providence, Rau watched and smirked as a giant mushroom cloud formed over the point of impact.

"The Lunar Base…" Murrue muttered, "I…can't believe…"

"GENESIS has successfully destroyed the target."

"Hurry up with the mirror block replacement," Patrick ordered, "I want GENESIS ready to fire again as soon as possible."

"Unit Two is on its way to the disposal site. Unit Three is on standby." Even as he said this, the battle outside had resumed with greater fervor than ever before. Several ZAFT Mobile Suits had already made their way to the Eternal's position and the Astray units were frantically trying to fend them off with the help of the GX-Bits. Mayura had just finished destroying a Ginn when she spotted a GuAIZ charging at her with its beam claws ignited. She panicked and tossed away her Astray's beam rifle and drew its saber when all of a sudden, a Bit appeared and shot off the GuAIZ's claw arm, allowing her to finish it off without any opposition.

"That was close," she thought as she moved away from the explosion, "I gotta remember to thank Ryo later on…"

"Incoming message from the reinforcements," an officer on the Dominion said as its Gottfrieds fired, "They've suffered considerable losses from the previous GENESIS firing. They're estimating that they've lost about half their fighting strength."

"What?!" Azrael exclaimed, "That's ridiculous!"

"Was that one of their intended targets too?" Natarle muttered.

"Without the Lunar Base, the Earth Forces will have to either retreat or fight to the death," Murrue said, "Natarle…"

"We absolutely can not allow GENESIS to be fired again," Lacus frowned as a Drake-class ship was destroyed, "If they fire at Earth, it will be all over." At the frontline, the Freedom, Justice, and Double X had arrived with the Strike, Strike Rouge, and Buster not far behind. Kira was already using every weapon that the Freedom and METEOR had at its disposal to disable countless Mobile Suits as Ryo did the same with the Double X, G-Falcon, and the GX-Bits he had brought with them.

"Dammit…" Athrun thought as he ignited his METEOR's beam swords, "If this keeps up…" He trailed off as he flew past a Drake-class ship and without even swinging, severed its bridge from the hull with one of the beam swords. Off to the side, Cagalli got her first taste of Mobile Suit combat as she faced off against a lone CGUE.

"Alright, you," she growled, "Show me what you've got!" As fast as the CGUE was built to be, it was still no match for the Strike Rouge's superior weaponry and equipment and quickly found itself without any arms.

"Hey, cut that out! We're trying to stop GENESIS too, you know!" Dearka shouted as several Strike Daggers shot at him before he destroyed them with the Buster's gun-launcher, "Really now!" Back at the Dominion, Azrael had opened up a communication line with the Doolittle to speak with Captain Sutherland about the current situation.

"Mister Azrael," Sutherland said, "How can I help you?"

"We're out of time. Send out the nuclear attack force!" Azrael replied, "Have them target the PLANT!"

"Director Azrael!" Natarle shouted and stood up but Azrael paid her no heed.

"Destroy every last one of them!" he snarled, "Smash those annoying hourglasses into dust!" Outside, Shani let out a war cry as he fired the Forbidden's Hresvelgr cannon, destroying four Ginns with a single curved beam.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Orga laughed as he blasted several more Ginns into oblivion with the Calamity's assorted weapons.

"Come on!" Clotho shouted as he launched the Raider's Mjolnir hammer, "I'll kill you all!"

"Actually, wait for our units to clear a path first," Azrael added as an afterthought as the Mjolnir destroyed a CGUE, "Then launch."

"Very well then."

"Director Azrael, the Earth is still at risk as long as GENESIS is still operational!" Natarle argued, "We should launch our nuclear missiles at that instead!"

"Oh, that does it!" Azrael growled and reached into his jacket, "I am sick and tired of listening to your nagging, woman!" And to the shock of everyone on board, he pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and pointed it straight at Natarle, making it evident that he was serious.

-----------------------------

"Peacemaker unit, prepare to launch. Everyone hurry up with the preparations." The four Agamemnon-class carriers were preparing the Mobius units on board, lifting them into the linear catapults one by one to get them ready for launch.

-----------------------------

"Incoming Laurasia-class at Indigo 43, Mark 2 Charlie," Sai warned as the Archangel flew past a destroyed Agamemnon-class carrier.

"Turn 30 degrees upward," Murrue ordered, "Turn bow 15 degrees and fire Helldarts!" As Neumann moved the ship, the Archangel's surface-to-air missiles fired and collided with several incoming missiles to destroy them.

"Captain, the Dominion and several other vessels are changing course!" Miriallia said, "It looks like they're trying to go around the Jachin Due's line of defense!"

"Natarle?" Murrue frowned, "No…could they be trying to make another direct assault on PLANT?" Not willing to risk it, she hurriedly contacted the Eternal and said, "The Dominion is heading for PLANT. The Archangel will pursue, so we're counting on you and the Kusanagi to handle GENESIS."

"Roger that," Waltfield nodded and then grimaced as the Eternal took a hit, "We'll do our best!"

-----------------------------

"What exactly are you planning to do with that?" Natarle frowned, indicating the gun in Azrael's hand, "Are you trying to seize control of this ship?!"

"Trying to? I've been in charge since the beginning!" Azrael snapped, ignoring the fact that Flay was pressing back into her seat to get away from the gun, "Your job is to simply follow my orders and that's it! And yet for whatever reason, you're always questioning my decisions!"

"Incoming message from the Doolittle," an officer suddenly said as a Strike Dagger exploded nearby, "The Peacemaker unit has finished its preparations and is ready to launch."

"Then have them do it," Azrael said, "Tell the Forbidden, Raider, and Calamity to cover them!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

"Now, Captain, I'm going to tell it to you as it is. If we destroy PLANT, the war will be over and that laser won't mean a thing!" Azrael explained, "It's simple. Even a single Coordinator is a threat to the Earth's survival and our purpose here is to get rid of them all!" As he said this, Flay thought back to the Coordinators that she had known personally and realized her time spent with them hadn't been half bad.

"But…"

"Minimizing our own losses while inflicting as many casualties as we can on the enemy," Azrael continued, "Isn't that the whole point of war?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_This isn't just about what happened at Alaska. We no longer have any faith in the Earth Forces in general. No surrender, no return to the military!"_

-----------------------------

"_A military needs to be regulated effectively. It needs soldiers that will carry out orders without question as well as Commanders who can analyze a situation and give orders accordingly. If we have none of them, then neither victory nor even survival can be guaranteed."_

-----------------------------

"_I'm sure that you'll make a very fine Captain…some day…"_

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As Natarle reflected on her past conversations with Murrue, the Peacemaker Unit had launched and was currently en route towards the PLANT to launch their assault. They hadn't gone far, however, when they were spotted by Kira and Athrun as they flew by. "Those are…" Kira muttered.

"We'd better stop them," Athrun said and the two quickly flew towards the Mobius units carrying the nuclear missiles.

"Mu! Dearka! Cagalli! Come on!" Ryo called out as the Double X followed, "We've spotted the nukes!" As the other three quickly went after them as well, the Freedom, Justice, and Double X were detected by the Calamity, which was guarding the Peacemaker unit with the Raider and Forbidden.

"Those guys again?" Orga frowned, "Let's go, we're supposed to be keeping them away from the missiles."

-----------------------------

"Enemy Mobile Armors approaching. Distance 450." As the Peacemaker Unit steadily closed in on its target, a series of blips appeared in front of them and soon turned out to be the Joule team, having recently launched to counter the impending threat.

"Here they come!" Yzak said as the Calamity and Forbidden began shooting at them, "Spread out and focus on shooting down those missiles! Don't let a single one get by us!"

"Yes sir!"

-----------------------------

"Incoming heat source from Blue 117, Mark 52 Alpha," an officer on the Dominion warned, "It's the Archangel!"

"Fire anti-beam depth charges!" Murrue ordered as the ship drew in front of the Dominion to cut it off, "Load Sledgehammers!"

"The Archangel is approaching, distance 9000!"

"Well, now that you understand just what it is that you're supposed to be doing, I suggest you get back to doing your job!" Azrael smirked, "That traitorous ship is gonna go down today!"

-----------------------------

"Why are they so persistent?!" Kira shouted as he entered SEED mode, arming all of the Freedom and METEOR's weapons before firing at the nuclear missiles that were launched. With such overwhelming firepower, a hit was guaranteed and several missiles detonated prematurely as they were destroyed, producing a bright light as the chain explosions engulfed several other missiles. Nearby, Athrun and Ryo also entered SEED mode and used their own weapons to finish off the rest, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. Unfortunately, Yzak was one of them and because he was distracted, he didn't notice the Raider coming from behind him until he was hit by its hyper velocity cannons.

"Get a load of this!" Clotho shouted as he charged the Raider's Zorn energy cannon, "FATALITY!!" Before he could fire, however, the Raider suddenly jerked forward as it was struck from behind by an explosion and Yzak turned to see the Buster approaching them, both guns drawn.

"Dearka?" Yzak blinked, "What…" Nearby, the second wave of Mobius units had arrived and launched their own missiles at PLANT. Athrun was about to go and stop them but suddenly found his path blocked off by the Forbidden.

"I'll get you this time…" Shani snarled and Athrun quickly ignited the METEOR's beam swords and swung, only to miss repeatedly as Shani moved the Forbidden away from each attack. Just as the missiles began to pass by them, Cagalli appeared in the Strike Rouge and fired off a few shots from the beam rifle before managing to hit one and set off another chain explosion.

-----------------------------

"Aim the Gottfrieds and Valiants!" Murrue said, "Target those Agamemnon-class carriers!"

"Don't let them hit the Doolittle. Get in front of it!" Azrael ordered but when Natarle didn't move, gestured wildly with his gun and added, "What are you waiting for? Move!"

"Captain…"

"Shoot them!" Azrael shouted, "If you don't fire, they'll be hit!" Seeing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with this argument, Natarle grudgingly sat back down in her seat and began issuing commands.

"Turn 20 degrees at maximum velocity!" she ordered, "Fire anti-beam depth charges and aim the Gottfrieds!" The Dominion slowly edged to the left until it was directly in the Archangel's path and both ships had a lock on the other. As soon as they were within range, both Captains gave the order to fire and the two ships shot at each other at the same time. Almost immediately, the Archangel lost its starboard Gottfried and radar globe while the Dominion lost a sensor array, a radar globe, and sustained a bit of damage to its hull as well.

"Natarle…" Murrue grimaced as Neumann steadied the ship, "Please…"

"I can't leave the fleet open for attack," Natarle thought as she sat up but even as she did, Murrue's words echoed through her mind as if in response to her words.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_Don't worry, it's alright. I understand perfectly."_

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Meanwhile, Mu had just shot down a CGUE when he felt a familiar tugging at his skull and his eyes widened when he felt it. "That feeling…is it him?!" he muttered before flying off in the Strike to investigate.

-----------------------------

Both of the Dominion's Gottfried cannons fired before a volley of Sledgehammer missiles followed it; several were shot down by the Archangel's Igelstellung guns but two managed to hit the port Valiant gun and destroy it. "Fire!" Murrue shouted, ignoring the shaking from the impact and the Archangel's remaining Gottfried fired, shooting the Dominion's port Gottfried right off of the hull.

"Yes…it will all be over…" Natarle muttered as Azrael quivered in a nearby corner, "Once PLANT is destroyed…"

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"_I know that a lot of things have happened along the way, and that we didn't always get along during those times…but still, I'm very grateful for everything you've done for us…all of us are…"_

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"Has the mirror block been replaced yet?" Patrick asked from the command center.

"Analyzing…Unit Three has reached the designated area. Final adjustments are underway."

-----------------------------

Outside, a small squad of Strike Daggers was on its way to the battlefield when all of a sudden, a storm of beams shot at them from all directions seemingly from no where and obliterated them in a matter of seconds. As the fireballs died down, the Providence appeared from within them and as Rau watched the destruction happening all around him, he couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh as his plans progressed smoothly. Meanwhile, the Eternal and Kusanagi were almost close enough to GENESIS to target it with their weapons, with only a final squad of ships standing in their way. "Break through the right flank!" Waltfield ordered, "Kusanagi!"

"Aim Lohengrin!" Kisaka ordered and a panel slid out on each side of the Kusanagi to reveal a dual-Lohengrin cannon under both, "Fire!" All four cannons charged and then fired into the fray, destroying several Ginns and a Nazca-class cruiser with the beams. As the ships advanced, the Astray units and GX-Bits fended off waves of Strike Daggers and ZAFT Mobile Suits alike, even though the Astray pilots were beginning to have to rely heavily on the assistance of the Bits. Both Juri and Asagi almost found themselves on the receiving end of beam rifle shots had several Bits not moved and blocked them with their shields. But even with the added assistance, the Astray units were severely outnumbered and several of them had already been destroyed. Cagalli, who was nearby, could only watch helplessly as the brave pilots who had volunteered to accompany them into space fell one by one until finally, she felt a surge of emotion and charged into the fray.

"Damn you!" she screamed, her eyes beginning to dull, "You murderous bastards!" Before her eyes, an orange seed spiraled downward before striking an invisible surface of water, shattering into a burst of light as everything seemed to slow down. Though not quite understanding what was happening, Cagalli was quick to take advantage of her newly activated SEED mode and destroyed several Strike Daggers with unbelievable ease.

"Asagi, look!" Juri exclaimed, "Isn't that…"

"Yeah, it's the princess!" Asagi nodded in awe, "Come on, we can't fall behind!" As the Astray pilots resumed fighting with renewed vigor, Kira had just finished destroying a third wave of nuclear missiles when the Raider came charging at him with its machine guns blazing.

"Athrun!" Kira shouted, "A little help, please?" Athrun turned and swung at the Raider with a beam sword, forcing Clotho to pull away.

-----------------------------

"Hakigurai missile count…eight remaining. All communications with the Peacemaker unit has been lost."

"Concentrate all fire on those units! Shoot them down!"

-----------------------------

"What's the deal with you guys anyway?" Clotho suddenly asked as he dodged another swing from a beam sword and then used the Raider's weapons to shoot down a missile salvo, "Why are you fighting so desperately?!"

"I could ask you the same thing," Athrun frowned as he moved to avoid a shot from the Zorn cannon, "What do you think you're fighting for?!"

"Don't ask me, I don't really care," Clotho replied as he dodged another swing, "I just hate losing! _That's_ my only reason!"

"What?!" Athrun exclaimed as Clotho launched the Mjolnir hammer, "That's it?!"

"Why not?" Clotho sneered as Athrun dodged, "Not that I would ever lose, of course!" Meanwhile, Cagalli had just helped shoot down another cluster of nuclear missiles and turned to go somewhere else, still in SEED mode. All of a sudden, the Forbidden appeared and fired a beam of energy that began to curve towards the Strike Rouge and Cagalli gasped that she wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. Then, out of no where, a shape moved in front of her and blocked the blast before shooting back at the Forbidden, even though the shots merely bounced off of its Geschmeidig Panzer field. Both she and Shani blinked in surprise when they realized that it was actually the Duel that had saved her as Yzak stared down the green Mobile Suit. At that moment, Dearka appeared in the Buster and formed its anti-armor shotgun and fired, managing to force the Forbidden's shields aside from the impact. Seeing an opening, Yzak drew one of the Duel's beam sabers and charged, shield in front. Shani smirked and fired another blast from the Hresvelgr cannon and hit the Duel's shield, resulting in an explosion that surrounded the blue Mobile Suit.

"Yzak!" Dearka called out and Cagalli gasped when she saw the light. All of a sudden, the Duel came flying out of the smoke with both sabers drawn, relatively unscathed except for the fact that its Assault shroud was gone.

"What?!" Shani gaped, "Did he just throw off his exterior armor?!"

"Take this!" Yzak yelled and slashed with the Duel's left saber. Shani raised the Nidhoggr scythe to block but Yzak adjusted the angle of his strike and cut off both of the Forbidden's arms, leaving it defenseless as the Duel turned with the momentum and stabbed the Forbidden right through the cockpit. Knowing that it would explode at any moment, Yzak quickly pulled the blade through the Forbidden's side and flew back before it was engulfed in a ball of fire.

"Shani!!" Orga shouted as he watched his comrade's Mobile Suit explode and an animalistic rage began to fill him as he turned to the Duel. "You bastard! I'll kill you!" he roared as he began firing indiscriminately, "I swear to God I'll kill you!!"

-----------------------------

"Fire Helldarts!"

"Aim Lohengrin 2!" Natarle ordered as the missiles streaked towards the Dominion, "Fire!" Just as the weapon began to charge, however, the missiles struck it dead on and caused the energy to overload and explode violently.

-----------------------------

"Creuset!" Mu shouted when he spotted a mysterious grey Mobile Suit and sensed Rau's presence inside, firing wildly at it with the Strike's beam rifle. All of a sudden, the extensions on its backpack and skirt armor flew off and began moving on their own when Mu felt another tugging sensation in his head. He quickly pulled the Strike aside as one of the remote weapons fired at him and then again as the others began to follow suit. Only his heightened spatial awareness saved him from being reduced to scrap as he quickly flew off to escape and Rau laughed as the DRAGOONs returned to the Providence before firing at the Strike with his own beam rifle.

"Like I said before, Mu!" Rau laughed as the Strike blocked with its shield, "A child can never hope to defeat its parent!"

"Shut up!" Mu snarled, "Is this what you were hoping for, you bastard?!"

"You shouldn't blame me!" Rau sneered as he launched the DRAGOONs again, "This is mankind's dream! Mankind's desire! Mankind's destiny!" Mu barely managed to avoid another barrage of beams but lost the Strike's beam rifle in the process as Rau continued, "To be the strongest! To go the farthest! To climb the highest!"

"You're insane!" Mu snapped as he charged the Providence, both Mobile Suits drawing their beam sabers before clashing.

"They compete with each other, they envy each other, they hate each other!" Rau said as the Providence easily held the Strike back, "And then they devour one another!"

-----------------------------

At this point, Orga had become completely consumed by rage and was now firing blindly at anything that moved, including his own allies. "He's completely lost it!" Ryo frowned, having detached from the G-Falcon a while ago, and pulled out the Double X's grenade launcher, "We have to stop him before he causes any more damage!" Saying that, he aimed carefully and fired a round at the Calamity, destroying its plasma sabot bazooka. Kira then ignited his own METEOR's beam swords and swung vertically, forcing Orga to move but not before it lost its Kaefer Zwei ram cannons as well. To finish the job, Athrun snuck up and sliced the Calamity in half from behind, putting an end to his rampage. Meanwhile, Dearka and Yzak had fought their way over to the Agamemnon-class carriers and were opening fire on them from their positions. As Dearka destroyed one with the Buster's anti-armor shotgun, Yzak flew right up to the Doolittle and aimed its beam rifle at the bridge, startling the occupants inside. With a frown, he hit a switch and fired the grenade launcher attached to the Duel's beam rifle, destroying the bridge instantly. "Hey! Duel pilot!" Ryo called out and when Yzak turned, tossed him the Double X's grenade launcher, "Here, there's only one left anyway."

"Thanks," Yzak nodded and then fired the last grenade into the hole where the bridge used to be, destroying the rest of the Doolittle.

-----------------------------

"You won't get away with this, you snake!" Mu shouted even as the Providence dodged the Strike's beam saber, "I won't let your twisted logic make things any worse!"

"It's too late for that, Mu!" Rau laughed as the Freedom bombarded a Nelson-class, "You see…I am the product of all this! That is how I know! Humanity will be swallowed by the very darkness they represent!" With that, he launched his DRAGOONs again and Mu quickly back away to avoid them. This time, however, he couldn't get away in time and was quickly surrounded before beams of lights began shooting all around him. By the time he had managed to escape, the Strike had lost its right arm and most of its left leg, as well as some of its Aile Striker pack.

-----------------------------

Back with the Eternal and Kusanagi, hordes of Strike Daggers were swarming the two ships and it was all that the Astray units and GX-bits could do to keep them at bay. Despite their morale, their numbers were thinning quickly as Astray units and Bits alike were destroyed by the onslaught of enemies. As Lacus sat watching the battle, a lone Strike Dagger ventured too close and was shot down, exploding near the bridge. "Possibly... we humans can exist without fighting. But many of us have chosen to fight," she said suddenly, "For what reason? To protect something? Protect what? Ourselves? The future? If we kill people to protect ourselves and this future, then what sort of future is it, and what will we have become?" She paused as Kira sliced the last Agamemnon-class carrier in half with the METEOR's beam sword and continued, "There is no future for those who have died. And what of those who did the killing?" As she said this, the other pilots, sans Mu, and Yzak had regrouped near the Archangel to catch a quick break, tired from the constant fighting. "Is happiness to be found in a future that is grasped with blood-stained hands?" she muttered as her eyes dulled as one in SEED mode would, "Is that the truth?"

"Miss Murrue," Kira panted, "Are you sure you don't need our help?"

"It's alright. We can handle the Dominion on our own," Murrue nodded, "You guys go on ahead. No matter what happens, you have to stop GENESIS."

"I'll leave my Bits here with you," Ryo said as everyone else nodded before taking off with the others, "Just in case."

"I'll stay behind too," Dearka told her and then turned to Yzak, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Yzak frowned.

"Well, do you want to hang around and help me out?" Dearka grinned, "Or are you too busy fighting the war for your side?" Yzak was silent in thought for a few minutes before opening a comm. channel to his team.

"Joule Team, this is an important mission update," Yzak said, "From this point on, I will be assisting in the defense of the Archangel-class battleship along with their Mobile Suit team. All members who wish to lend their assistance report to my coordinates now. Those who don't…continue your duties as usual." There were numerous exclamations of surprise across the channel but after a few minutes, a familiar voice crackled into his radio.

"We are prepared to follow any orders you give us, sir," Shiho said as her face appeared on a side monitor, "We're heading to your coordinates now."

"Acknowledged," Yzak nodded, "Get here as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

"Well?" Dearka said, "What do you say?"

"I've called in support from my team," Yzak replied, much to Dearka's surprise, "They should be here any minute now."

"Yzak…" Dearka muttered before smiling, "I knew I could count on you."

"Don't get used to it," Yzak frowned, "You guys helped save PLANT when we couldn't. It's the least I can do."

"Whatever you say," Dearka shrugged and then opened up a line to the Archangel, "Hey, Archangel, I've got a surprise for ya'! Guess who's helping us out?" As he explained the new turn of events to them, Mu was hurrying back to the Archangel in the heavily damaged Strike and holding his side where a piece of shrapnel had cut it, smoke issuing from several places in the cockpit as warning klaxons buzzed incessantly.

"Locking down Armory 8," Sai said, "Initiating reroute path and backing up control room operation."

"Captain, the Strike is returning!" Miriallia suddenly, "It's damaged!"

"Dammit…that new machine of Creuset's…" Mu grunted as he appeared on the main view screen, "Get the Zero ready for me…I'm going back out as soon as I can!"

"You can tell me about it later," Murrue said and held the phone on her armrest up to her ear, "Maintenance crew, prepare emergency landing net! Medical teams on standby!"

"Heh…thanks…" Mu smiled when he saw the Archangel's linear catapult opening up. Unfortunately, the crew of the Dominion saw this too and Azrael was quick to take advantage of the fact that they were just sitting their.

"Now! Shoot them!" he shouted, "Hurry up and sink them! Aim the Lohengrin!" The officer he was talking to hesitated for a moment but nonetheless brought up the firing controls for the ship's weapons.

"No! Stop it!" Flay suddenly cried, surprising everyone as she called out into her headset, "Archangel, get out of there!"

"You little bitch!" Azrael growled and pulled her out of her seat by the arm, "What do you think you're doing?!" With that, he gave her a quick backhand that sent her spiraling across the bridge, causing her to hit the edge of the main view screen. As Azrael brought his gun up to shoot, Natarle leaped out of her seat and shoved his arm to the side, causing the shot to go wide and everyone quickly ducked as the bullet ricocheted off several walls before slowing to a stop and floating around in the air.

-----------------------------

As this happened, Ryo suddenly felt a tugging at his skull and he hit the brakes to look back.

"Ryo?" Tiffa asked from the G-Falcon, "What is it?"

"Something's up…" he frowned and turned towards the direction he had just flown from, "I'd better go back."

"I'll come too."

"Okay."

"Hey!" Cagalli shouted after them as they flew back, "Where're you two going?! GENESIS is _that_ way!"

"We'll be right with you!" Ryo called back, "We're going to check something out first!"

-----------------------------

"What the hell are you doing?!" Natarle shouted as everyone got back up, "Are you _trying_ to get us killed from decompression?!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing!" Azrael snapped and grabbed Natarle by the throat.

"Ugh…a-all hands…!" Natarle grimaced as she struggled to break free, "Abandon ship! Now!"

"Badgiruel!" Azrael snarled but then looked up to see all of the other officers on the bridge getting out of their seats and heading for the lift, "You cowards! Get back to your posts! That's an order!"

"Heh…" Natarle smirked, "Looks like it's game over, Azrael…"

"Shut up!" Azrael shouted and pointed his gun at the crew members, "Abandoning ship in the middle of combat and going AWOL?! That's an offense punishable by death!" The others stared at him as he continued, "Now get back to your posts if you value your lives! Kill them! Kill the Coordinators!" His rant was stopped short when Natarle suddenly grabbed his collar and pushed off of the floor and away from the others, dragging him with her.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel!" Flay exclaimed, "What…?"

"Hurry! Go to the Archangel!" Natarle said, "You'll be safe there!" Flay was about to argue but saw Natarle's assuring nod and hurried over to the lift, where the others pulled her in and closed the door.

"Damn you!" Azrael growled as they struggled in mid-air, "You bitch!"

"This isn't a war, this is your battle! And there is no way I'm going to let _my_ men die for _you_!" Natarle snapped as she slowly pushed his gun hand aside, "So if you are the Commander…if you are in the position to give orders-!" Natarle hadn't noticed that as she was pushing the gun away, she was actually pushing it lower and Azrael had fired when it was above her abdomen. Dazed with shock and pain, she could do nothing to stop him as he shoved her away into the controls and floated up.

"Stupid bitch," he muttered as he made for the lift, "Do you have any idea what's going to happen to you for treating me like this?!" Even though she was bleeding profusely and in a considerable amount of pain, Natarle floated her way over to her seat and just as Azrael landed in front of the door to the lift, she hit a button on the side of the arm-rest and a blast-shield sprang up over the door.

"You're a monster that deserves to die," she said through clenched teeth, "Right here, with me…"

"What did you say?!" Azrael shouted and turned as he lifted his gun, shooting her in the shoulder. Outside, a small group of escape pods launched from the Dominion, carrying the rest of her crew as they flew towards the Archangel.

"The Dominion has launched its escape pods!" Sai announced, "It looks like they're abandoning ship!"

"Natarle…" Murrue blinked, "Is she…really going to surrender?"

"Captain, the Double X and G-Falcon are heading towards the Dominion," Miriallia said.

"Ryo, Tiffa," Murrue frowned, "Is something wrong?"

"Not that I know of," Ryo told her through the radio, "But we're going to investigate just in case. We'll contact you if we get any developments."

"Alright then," Murrue nodded, "But be careful. They might have activated the self-destruct mechanism."

"Don't worry," Ryo smiled as he maneuvered the Double X into the Dominion's hangar, "If it's active, we'll be long gone before it goes off." Before climbing out of the cockpit, he reached behind the seat and pulled out a life-support pack and tactical vest and strapped them on before grabbing the assault rifle that came with it. "Hopefully, we won't have to resort to these…" he thought to himself as he climbed out and looked around, "Wow, it even looks like the Archangel on the inside…course, they're the same kind of ship, but…" By now, the G-Falcon had landed as well and Tiffa had climbed out with her equipment ready and he floated down towards her. "Come on," he said and gestured towards the door, "Let's get moving." Tiffa nodded and the two headed for the exit, using their life-support packs to move easier in the zero-gravity environment.

"Ryo…" Tiffa said as they floated down the hallway, "What do you think is happening?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to wait until it's too late to find out," Ryo frowned and then concentrated before adding, "There, that way. If I remember correctly, this should take us to the lift for the bridge." Soon enough, the two arrived at the lift but were surprised to see a blast shield over the door. "This is odd…" he blinked, "Maybe they're in lockdown…"

"But how do we get in?" Tiffa asked, "We don't have anything to open it with."

"Ah, but we do," Ryo smiled and dug into a pouch on his tactical vest before pulling out a rectangular object, "Remember that thing Murdoch used to open the closet I locked myself in a while back? Well, I managed to get one from the Junk Guild a while ago and I've been practicing with it a bit." Saying that, he opened a panel on it and plugged a wire into the number pad next to the door, "Now then, let's see if I can get this…" As Ryo attempted to get the door open, Azrael had grown tired of trying to open it himself and now approached Badgiruel as she clutched her side on the ground.

"This isn't the time for games," he growled as he pointed his gun at her again, "Open that door!" When Natarle just gave him a small grin, he got even more frustrated and shot her in the leg.

"I've got it!" Ryo exclaimed as the blast shield suddenly lowered and unplugged the device before opening the door, "Let's go."

"Something isn't right," Tiffa muttered as the lift began to rise, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah," Ryo nodded and clicked the safety on his assault rifle off, "Get ready, we could come under fire the moment the door opens." As Tiffa fumbled with her own safety, Azrael and Natarle had both noticed that the blast shield on the door was down and both were wondering how it had happened.

"Well, it looks like someone finally came to their senses and came back to let me out," Azrael grinned and started walking to the door, "See you later, Miss Captain." He waited until the door began to open and said, "Well, it's about time you-" His words were cut short when the door fully opened to reveal Ryo and Tiffa behind it, the former immediately spotting the gun in his hand.

"Watch it! He's armed!" Ryo shouted and raised his assault rifle, "Drop your weapon!"

"What the hell?!" Azrael exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing?! Do you have any idea who I am?!"

"I know that you don't look like you belong on this ship," Ryo frowned, "Now drop your gun!" At that moment, Tiffa heard what sounded like groaning coming from behind the Captain's seat and looked to see Natarle on the ground, clutching her leg as globules of her blood floated around her.

"Miss Badgiruel!" she gasped and moved over to her, catching Azrael's attention.

"No…" Natarle grunted, "Stop him…!" Azrael suddenly whirled around and pointed his gun at Tiffa and the moment he saw this, Ryo snapped his foot forward and struck Azrael's right knee. There was a satisfying snap and Azrael screamed in pain as his knee bent 30 degrees too far in a direction that it shouldn't have.

"Ah, suck it up!" Ryo frowned before clicking the safety on and floating over to join Tiffa next to Natarle, "Wow. Who the hell did you piss off?"

"Azrael…tried to have us fire while the Archangel was standing still…" Natarle said, "Almost shot Miss Allster…tried to fight him, but…"

"Wait, that's Azrael?" Ryo blinked and looked back at the sniveling man clutching his broken leg, "Hm…thought he'd be older." Natarle coughed but the two could have sworn that she was trying to laugh. "Well, we'd better get you to the Archangel so you can get treated," Ryo said and stood up, "Tiffa, take her to the locker room and find a suit for her. Bring her back in the G-Falcon."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna have a brief chat with Mr. Azrael here," Ryo frowned, "Go on, I'll catch up with you later." Tiffa hesitated before nodding and helped Natarle to her feet before floating over to the lift and getting in, leaving Ryo alone with Azrael. "So, Azrael," Ryo started, walking over and crouching next to him, "Thought you could blow up PLANT and get rid of all the Coordinators, huh? Well…guess we know how _that_ turned out."

"Who…the hell are you…?" Azrael growled, "Are you even in the Earth Forces?"

"Used to be. Now I'm with the Archangel," Ryo shrugged, "So what are you doing on Miss Badgiruel's ship anyway?"

"I asked to…" Azrael smirked, "I'm in charge."

"You? In charge?" Ryo mused and then laughed, "Then you must've done a pretty crappy job of it to have the entire crew desert you!"

"Shut up!" Azrael snarled, "If my leg wasn't broken, I'd…"

"I think you're forgetting who broke your leg in the first place," Ryo frowned and then grabbed the man by his collar before hoisting him up off the floor.

"Hey! What're you doing?!" Azrael shouted, clawing at the arm holding him, "Let go!" Ryo ignored him and floated over to the Captain's seat, pulling a knife out of his tactical vest as he did so.

"You're in charge, are you? Well then, I guess this is where you ought to be sitting," he said and forcefully shoved Azrael down on the seat, "Here…since you obviously like sitting here so much…" In a flash of steel, Ryo stabbed forward and plunged the blade through Azrael's shoulder, pushing the knife until it had stuck into the seat as well as the blonde man screamed in pain. "There, nice and secure," Ryo nodded, stepping back and was about to leave when he reached over and added, "Oops, can't forget your seatbelt." Instead of clicking the two halves together, however, Ryo extended the seatbelt to its full length and tied them together, making sure to make it as uncomfortable as he could.

"You…" Azrael said as he started to walk away, "Is this your idea of a joke?!"

"No," Ryo replied, "I just thought that you needed a taste of your own medicine for a change." With that, he entered the lift and closed the doors, leaving Azrael alone on the bridge. After a few minutes of floating through hallways, he arrived back in the hangar in time to see Tiffa helping Natarle into the G-Falcon's cockpit and quickly went back to the Double X so that they could leave. "You guys ready to go?" he asked after he had switched on the O.S. and fastened his harness.

"Yes."

"Alright, let's get out of here," Ryo said, "We'll take Miss Badgiruel to the Archangel and as soon as she's on her way to the infirmary, we're going to GENESIS with Kira and the others."

"Okay," Tiffa nodded and activated the G-Falcon's thrusters, flying out of the hangar as the Double X followed behind.

"How're you feeling, Miss Badgiruel?" Ryo smiled as they began to catch up with the life pods, "Hanging in there?"

"I'll make it…" Natarle grunted, "Thank you."

"No problem," Ryo shrugged, "I…" He trailed off as the tugging feeling came back and he frowned as he looked around, "That feeling again…now what?"

-----------------------------

Back on the Dominion's bridge, Azrael had managed to get himself free by pulling the knife out and cutting through the seatbelt that was holding him down. By now, the pain and loss of blood was starting to go to his head and he wobbled slightly as he floated up to the gunner's seat. "Dammit…I can't die like this!" Upon reaching the controls, he began typing furiously on the keyboard, even with his hands shaking uncontrollably. "I can still win…" he muttered as his eye started to twitch and he locked onto the Archangel with the Dominion's remaining Lohengrin cannon, "That's right…I always win…"

-----------------------------

"The Dominion has a lock on us!" Sai shouted moments before a blast of positron energy fired from the black ship's Lohengrin cannon.

"No…" Natarle muttered as the blast streamed by the life pods, G-Falcon, and Double X, "Azrael…"

"What the hell?!" Ryo gaped, "I nailed him to the freakin' seat!"

"Evade!" Murrue ordered frantically.

"It's too late!" Neumann grimaced even as he pulled on the controls as far as they would go, "We're not gonna make it!" The bridge of the Archangel began to brighten as the blast closed in on it, bathing everyone inside in its foreboding light. Then, all of a sudden, it darkened again as a shape moved in front of them.

"No. Freakin'. Way," Ryo muttered when he saw what had jumped in front of the Archangel, "Is he serious?!" For there was Mu la Flaga in the Strike, standing defiantly between the blast and the ship that held the woman he loved as he raised the Strike's battered shield. The blast hit the shield dead-on and pooled around it, destroying a few Igelstellung guns in the process but the shield somehow managed to hold.

"Mu…" Murrue muttered even as the Strike's Phase Shift armor began to peel away, "What…?" Seeing that the Strike was not going to last long, Ryo gunned the thrusters and sped towards the Archangel.

"Oh no you don't!" Ryo shouted, "There's no way I'm gonna let you go out like this!" Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused every particle of his mind into a single command. _Defend the Archangel. Save the Strike._ The GX-Bits he had left with the ship sprang to life as they all flew towards the Strike, changing their beam rifles into shields. One by one, they braced their own shields behind the Strike's until they formed a layered wall of shields as two Bits grabbed a hold of the Strike and dragged it away from the blast. Moments later, the shield gave out and the last few wisps on the blasts continued, destroying a few Bits before finally fizzling out. The explosion that had occurred was so bright that the bridge crew missed everything and when they were able to see again, all they saw were the remaining Bits falling back into their original positions.

"The Strike…" Murrue said, "Where's the Strike?! Where is it?!"

"I-I don't know!" Miriallia replied, trying her best not to panic as she scanned her screen frantically, "I'm…I'm not getting any readings…" Silence fell across the bridge as the crew began to fear the worst.

"No…" Murrue gasped and slowly shook her head as her eyes widened, "No, no, no! MU!!" She buried her face in her hands as tears streamed for her eyes, whimpering, "No…oh God please, no…"

-----------------------------

Azrael allowed himself a small smirk as he watched the explosion from the Lohengrin shot. Even if he couldn't have his way with the Coordinators, he had still gotten his revenge on the Archangel. Perhaps he could even find a way back to Earth and start over again. Just as he was in the middle of his planning, however, he looked up and his eyes slowly widened when he saw that the Archangel was still there, looking relatively unscathed from the shot. "But…but I…" he gaped, "How…that was a direct hit!"

-----------------------------

"The Dominion is still closing on us!" Sai said, noticing that the ship was still moving. Although consumed by grief, Murrue knew that the fight wasn't over yet and looked back up, glaring at the mockery of her ship that was the Dominion.

"Aim Lohengrin…ready!" she ordered and the Archangel's Lohengrin cannons deployed, humming as they built up the positron energy about to be unleashed upon its target, "FIRE!!" At her command, the cannons fired and twin beams of energy surged towards the Dominion. When Azrael saw this, he could only scream in terror and cover his face as the bridge was obliterated by the blasts. And as the Archangel and those nearby watched, the black ship slowly began to cave in on itself before exploding in a radiant fireball, marking the end of the Dominion.

Phase 49- End

To the reviewers:

Infinite Freedom- Ah, so you figured out what he was talking about. Yes, the GX-Bits' Satellite Cannons are not as powerful but I have made a new feature for them which will be revealed in the last chapter.

Ominae- I actually got the idea for the extra weapons from the 1/100 HG model of the Double X. It actually comes with those weapons

Weasel Debater- Thank you. The GX-Bits are only slightly shorter than the original X Gundam since they don't have V-fins.


	51. To a Future that Never Ends

Disclaimer's note- I do not own either Gundam Seed or Gundam X

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Final Phase- To a Future that Never Ends

_September 30, C.E. 71, Jachin Due front, L5 Colony Cluster_

"What do you mean we've lost contact with the Dominion?!"

"Stay up there! There's no way we're getting out of this!"

"Our last line of defense has been completely wiped out!"

"Fire destroy that laser!"

"If you hadn't fired those damn nukes…!" Even with the Earth Forces' fleet scattered all over the battlefield, the fight raged on as ships and Mobile Suits alike exchanged fire, each hoping to take down their targets before the same could be done to them.

"Attention ZAFT forces!" Lacus called out as the Eternal and Kusanagi continued to approach GENESIS, "I demand that you cease operations of GENESIS at once!"

"Turn 20 to port!" Waltfield shouted as a squad of GuAIZ's flew at them while the remaining Astray units and GX-Bits went to drive them back.

"You've experienced the pain and sorrow of nuclear attacks, and yet you're trying to inflict the same suffering on them now?!" Lacus asked, "Is that Justice?! Will anything be made right if you fire it?!" As she said this, Kira, Athrun, and Cagalli were heading towards GENESIS as well when an odd feeling settled into Kira's stomach. He frowned, suspecting something was happening, and turned the Freedom around before heading back to the Archangel.

"Athrun, look after Cagalli for me!" he called out as he left.

"Well, alright…" Athrun blinked, "But…" Meanwhile, near the Archangel's location, Clotho had run into his own problems as the Raider's energy dropped to critical levels. The dying battery, however, was the least of his worries as his chest painfully contracted and he screamed in pain, clawing at his chest. The Gamma Glipheptin that he had been given earlier was wearing off quickly and the fact that he had taken an extra dose to increase its longevity only made the withdrawal pains worse.

"Hey!" Murdoch shouted as he led a group of technicians, all of them clad in fire-resistant suits, in fighting several fires that had started in the engine room, "Hurry up and take care of this one first you idiots!"

"We've lost the ammunition storage!" Sai announced, "Blocks 124 through 144 are sealed off!"

"Damage to the ship is exceeding fifty percent!" Neumann said.

"Sensors integrity down to seventy percent!" Miriallia added. As one could guess by now, the Archangel was having its own share of troubles as the strains of the long battle began to show physically. Murrue however, was too busy grieving for Mu, believing that he had died to save them.

"He…" she muttered quietly, "He said…he'd return…"

"Captain, the Double X and G-Falcon have returned," Miriallia said suddenly, "G-Falcon has already docked and two of Ryo's Bits have entered as well." Murrue was quiet for a moment before Miriallia added, "Wait…I'm getting word that they brought someone back…" She paused as she listened and then gasped, "Captain, it's Lieutenant Badgiruel! And the Strike too!"

"Natarle…Mu?" Murrue blinked, looking up a bit, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure," Miriallia shrugged, "From what I can gather, they brought her back from the Dominion before it went down…as for the Strike, it looks like it got pulled out of the way just in time before its armor failed…"

-----------------------------

"Man, what do we do now?" an officer sighed as he sat at the controls of a life pod, "There aren't any friendly ships close enough to our position. We'd have to go out into the middle of the battlefield to find someplace to dock."

"Head to the Archangel," Flay told him, "They'll take us in."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, a grinning Rau made his way towards the Archangel, surveying the debris scattered around it. "Oh, Azrael," he smirked, seeing the remains of the Dominion, "What a disappointment you were…"

"Incoming Mobile Suit!" Miriallia warned, "It's coming in fast!"

"Hey…" Yzak frowned, "Is that…one of ours?" His question was answered when the Providence raised its beam rifle and aimed at them. Yzak suddenly realized that they were in trouble, as there were only about ten GX-Bits left with the Archangel, the Double X and G-Falcon had just come out, and his team had still not shown up yet.

"Dammit," Dearka swore and aimed the Buster's sniper rifle, "Why now of all times?!"

"Wait, Dearka!" Yzak warned but it was too late as Dearka fired a shot at the Providence. Rau easily dodged the shot and deployed the DRAGOONS, startling Dearka as he struggled to follow them with his eyes. Just then, the masked man felt a tugging at his skull and he moved aside again to avoid a pair of plasma beams fired by the Freedom with its METEOR, the white Mobile Suit approaching quickly as a beam sword extended from one of the METEOR's arms.

"Kira?" Ryo blinked when he saw his friend, "I thought he went with the others to GENESIS." At that moment, his attention was caught by Rau's DRAGOONs raining fire upon the bewildered Dearka in the Buster.

"What the hell?!" Dearka exclaimed even as he fired with the Buster's missiles pods, "Where's that coming from?!" Dearka quickly found out that he was taking fire from all sides when the DRAGOONS destroyed the Buster's head, missile launchers, and a fair amount of its right arm as well in a matter of seconds, sending sparks and bits of shrapnel flying around in the cockpit.

"Dearka!" Yzak shouted and quickly flew over to help his friend as the DRAGOONS focused on the Freedom.

"No way," Ryo gaped, "That guy took out the Buster without breaking a sweat! What kind of weapons are those?!" Just then, he spotted several GX-Bits nearby and thought, "Wait…could they be like my own? Well, only one way to find out." _Engage enemy Mobile Suit. Be aware of remote weapons._ The Bits' visors flashed before they flew towards the Providence, weaving through space as they fired their beam rifles. Rau smirked as he easily dodged them and destroyed six of them with a combination of DRAGOON and beam rifle fire.

"So, we meet again, Ryo Mouri!" Rau laughed, "Did you really think you could defeat me with such out-dated weaponry? These DRAGOONs were based off of your little toys!" As he destroyed the last four, he added, "Heh, a prototype weapon for a prototype person…rather fitting, don't you think?"

"Will you give it up with the whole 'prototype' thing already?!" Ryo scowled, "It's starting to get old really fast!"

"Say what you like, for it will all be over soon!" Rau sneered, "I'll put an end to you and your little friends!" At that moment, Kira appeared again and fired the METEOR's beam cannons at the Providence, which moved aside just in time.

"Ryo!" Kira called out, "You and Tiffa go help Athrun and Cagalli! I'll handle Creuset!"

"Are you sure?" Ryo asked, "He's no pushover."

"Don't worry about me," Kira nodded, "Go! They're gonna need Double X's firepower to take down GENESIS!"

"Alright then. Just watch out for those pod things," Ryo said, "You saw what they did to Dearka." Kira nodded again and Ryo returned it before turning to the G-Falcon, "Let's go, Tiffa. We still have a job to do." The G-Falcon connected to the Double X in armor booster mode and the two took off towards GENESIS to join the others as Rau turned to stop them, only to find the path blocked by the Freedom.

"Well, you certainly are a pest," Rau frowned as he shot at the brunette with the DRAGOONs, "Kira Yamato!" Kira dodged the shots and then maneuvered around before firing every missile pod the METEOR had at the Providence. Rau quickly countered the missile barrage by using his DRAGOONs to shoot them down, creating a wall of beams between himself and the Freedom. As Kira frantically looked around for him, the Providence emerged from the smoke and fired its beam rifle, managing to hit the METEOR's right arm.

"Damn!" Kira grimaced and quickly ejected the arm before it exploded. Seeing the Providence approaching with its beam saber drawn, he ignited the METEOR's remaining beam sword and swung but Rau proved to be too quick once again as he easily dodged the blow and slashed the arm in half, forcing Kira to eject that one as well. The Providence then drew away, firing a burst from its Picus guns before using its beam rifle and DRAGOONs to drive Kira further back.

"Kira!" Sai called out when he saw his friend in trouble.

"Can you contact him?" Murrue asked, also worried for the young pilot.

"It's impossible, especially in these conditions," Sai frowned as the Providence repeatedly fired its beam rifle.

"You're something that shouldn't have been allowed to even exist, boy!" Rau sneered as the Freedom moved side to side to avoid the shots.

"What're you talking about?!" Kira frowned before launching another salvo of missiles at him. Rau quickly destroyed a few with the DRAGOONs before finishing the rest of with the Providence's beam saber. Meanwhile, Dearka was still struggling with the Buster's controls, even as a trickle of blood began to run down his face while Yzak moved over to him in the Duel.

"Dammit…" he swore, "Come on, Buster, don't quit on me now…" Just as Yzak reached him, however, several bullets narrowly missed it and he turned to see the Raider approaching, wildly firing its hyper velocity cannons. Inside, Clotho laughed deliriously as he fired, the pain from the withdrawal having driven him insane. Yzak aimed the Duel's beam rifle but it was quickly destroyed by a stray round.

"Yzak, go!" Dearka grunted as the Duel shot at the Raider with its Igelstellung guns, "Its not worth it!"

"Forget it, Dearka!" Yzak snapped, "I'm not leaving you here to die like a dog!"

"If people learned of your existence, they would want to become just as you are!" Rau said even as he dodged gunfire from the Freedom's guns, "They would want to become like you!"

"That's a load of crap!" Kira shouted, drawing the Freedom's sabers to deflect several shots from the DRAGOONs but a few still managed to hit the METEOR, causing the cockpit to shake violently. Off to the side, the Raider was steadily drawing nearer as Yzak tried to pull the Buster away to a safer spot but the Duel's thrusters were no where near powerful enough to provide sufficient thrust. Finally getting tired of running, Yzak glanced around before his eyes fell on the Buster's still intact weapons.

"Give me that!" Yzak said and had the Duel grab onto the long-range sniper rifle.

"Yzak!"

"He's not beating me!" the fair-head growled and aimed the weapon at the Raider's cockpit.

"Eh heh heh…I…" Clotho muttered incessantly, somehow managing to charge the Raider's Zorn cannon, "I…!" Both machines fired at the same time and as the plasma beam scraped the Duel's shoulder armor, the sniper round went clean through the Raider's cockpit, causing it to explode moments after careening out of control as the Duel's Phase Shift armor shut down, its battery now too low to sustain it.

"And that, Kira Yamato," Rau sneered as he shot at the Freedom with the Providence's beam rifle, "Is why your existence cannot be allowed!"

"Even if that's true," Kira frowned, dodging the beam before firing all of the Freedom's guns, "I'm not defined by my abilities alone!"

"And who's going to believe that?!" Rau demanded, raining DRAGOON fire down on the Freedom, "Will anyone understand?! Of course they won't!" As he said this, he suddenly charged at the Freedom with the Providence's saber raised, "No one will!" With that, he slashed down and cut deep into the METEOR's right engine, severely damaging it. As Kira struggled to keep the Freedom steady, he heard a familiar voice calling his name through his radio and his eyes widened when he saw an escape pod off in the distance.

"That's…" he muttered, "Flay!" Without any further thoughts, he turned and made a beeline towards the pod, completely ignoring the DRAGOONs as they finished the METEOR off with a single burst of fire.

"Heh…you did beautifully, Flay Allster," Rau smirked as he watched the Freedom go, "And now, for your reward..." Aiming the Providence's beam rifle, he tightened his finger on the trigger and added, "A quick and painless death…" As those words left his mouth, he fired and a beam of green light streaked towards the pod as the Freedom closed on it.

"No!" Kira grunted and in a desperate effort, thrust the Freedom's shield forward and felt a welcome relief wash over him as the beam hit the shield and dissipated. Pulling the shield aside, he zoomed in on the window and saw he couldn't help but smile when he saw Flay looking back at him with her own smile.

"Kira…" Flay muttered, joyful tears welling up in her eyes, "You…" She knew she was safe now, because Kira had come for her and now she had a chance to tell him everything.

Those were her thoughts as a lone DRAGOON appeared and fired, its beam slicing the escape pod clean in half.

"Flay…?" Kira said as he watched the pod explode, "No…no, Flay! FLAY!!" The explosion rapidly expanded, surrounding the Freedom and Rau smirked at the sight before recalling his DRAGOONs and flying off.

"Flay…" Sai muttered as the crew of the Archangel watched the bright light, along with Yzak and Dearka.

-----------------------------

Ryo and Tiffa had almost caught up to Athrun and Cagalli when suddenly, Ryo felt a surge of emotion coming from behind him and turned his head to look. "Did you feel it too?" Tiffa asked over the radio, "The sorrow…pain…"

"It's Kira," Ryo frowned, "But what…?" He concentrated and then his eyes widened as he muttered, "Flay…she's dead…"

-----------------------------

"FLAY!!" Kira shouted as he felt himself rocketing backwards and as the bright light died down, he slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a strange place. It was almost like he was floating in the middle of a nebula, as there were cloud-like shapes colored varying shades of blue, green, and turquoise around him. The Freedom had also undergone some sort of change as all he could see of it were the outlines of its physical frame that were glowing and the particles of light floating around him. None of this registered in his mind, however, as he wept over what had just happened. Flay was dead. He couldn't save her.

"Kira…" a voice said and he looked up to see several light particles merging together into the shape of a body. Moments later, they formed the image of Flay, except he could only see her face as the rest of her was glowing too brightly to make out any details.

"Flay…" Kira sniffed, "Why…why did…?"

"Thank you. And…I'm sorry," Flay smiled, her hair flowing behind her even though their was no wind, "I always wanted to apologize to you…"

"Don't say that!" Kira shouted, "I'm the one who should be apologizing…"

"No…I was always confused and afraid…of the war…of the Coordinators," Flay said, shaking her head, "Because I never understood anything…I never understood you…"

"Flay…"

"But now, I'm finally free," Flay added, "And I can see you…so clearly now…for who you are…"

"I…" Kira said, turning away, "I couldn't…"

"So don't cry, Kira…" Flay smiled as she floated over to him, "You don't have to cry anymore…"

"But…" Kira sobbed, "But, why…?"

"It's my turn to protect you now," Flay smiled and put her arms around him, "With my true feelings…" With that, she shimmered and began to disappear but as everything else began to fade into white, Kira heard her whispering, "Your fight isn't over yet…Kira…"

-----------------------------

As Kira opened his eyes again, he saw that the Freedom had fallen out of the smoke created by the initial explosion. "Yes…." he thought as he righted the Freedom and spread its wings into HiMAT mode, "It's not over yet…" His eyes dulled as he entered SEED mode and flew off towards the battle field, determined to end the war once and for all. "Flay…thank you…" he muttered, "I'll never forget you…"

-----------------------------

"GENESIS will be within firing range shortly," Dacosta said as the Eternal and Kusanagi approached the giant weapon. At this point, several Earth Forces ships had managed to reach the Jachin Due and were now fighting against the ZAFT forces on their front doorstep.

"Even if it's got Phase Shift armor, it can't last forever!" Waltfield frowned, "Just hammer away at it until it goes down!"

"Aim Lohengrin!" Kisaka ordered as the Kusanagi deployed its positron cannons, "Fire!" Both ships began bombarding the GENESIS with fire from all weapons but to the dismay of both crews, the shots merely fizzled out on impact.

"Damn," Waltfield muttered, "This might take a while…"

-----------------------------

"GENESIS, Outer Layer 7, adjusting assumption properties…"

"Those Naturals and that girl…" Patrick said, "Hurry up and shoot them down!" Several murmurs went up around the command center, all of them expressing some form of doubt. "Begin inputting alignment coordinates!" Patrick ordered, "Target North America, East Coast Region!"

"Sir!" Commander Yuki protested, "That's…!"

-----------------------------

"Athrun! Cagalli!" Ryo called out as he finally caught up to them, "Sorry we're late!"

"Don't worry about it," Athrun nodded, "Anything new?"

"The Dominion's been shot down and the Duel is now assisting the Archangel," Ryo said, "But…"

"What is it?"

"It's Dearka," Ryo continued, "The Buster was heavily damaged by Creuset's new Mobile Suit."

"What?!" Athrun exclaimed, "Is he alright?"

"I think so," Ryo nodded and then said, "But enough of that. What's been going on here?"

"We're not too sure," Athrun frowned and then contacted the Eternal, "What's GENESIS up to?"

"They're taking aim. Looks like they're setting their sights on Earth," Waltfield replied grimly, "We're doing what we can but our weapons aren't doing a whole lot against it."

"Alright then, looks like we don't have any other choice," Athrun said as he detached Justice from the METEOR, "We'll have to break into Jachin Due and destroy the control mechanism."

"Athrun!" Lacus gasped, "If you do that, then…"

"It's the only way!" Athrun frowned before turning to the others, "Come on, let's go!"

"Right," Cagalli nodded before following the Justice in the Strike Rouge, the Double X and G-Falcon not far behind.

"Athrun! Ryo!" Lacus called out, "Miss Cagalli!"

"Don't worry about us," Cagalli said with a grin, "We can handle it."

"How many M1's do we have left?" Kisaka asked.

"We have six. Jackson, Rocky, Walsh, Asagi, Juri, and Mayura."

"Send those last three to cover Lady Cagalli!" Kisaka ordered, "Don't let anything happen to her!"

"Yes sir!" As the small group moved in on the Jachin Due, Ryo felt a tugging at the back of his skull again and turned back.

"Oh no…" he muttered, "It's Creuset!"

"Incoming Mobile Suit!" Dacosta warned, "Blue 25 Charlie!"

"It's a shame, really. I did enjoy your songs," Rau smirked as he released the DRAGOONs, "But unfortunately, the real world isn't as kind as the one in pop songs!"

"Evade!" Waltfield shouted, "Steer to port!"

"Get the hell out of here!" Ryo snarled, charging at the Providence as he drew the Double X's spherical breaker, "Cheap bastard!" He launched the weapon but Rau simply sliced in half while Ryo commanded the remaining GX-Bits to attack. This time, however, he had them work in pairs and the clash was at a temporary stand-still. The DRAGOONs were too fast for the Bits to shoot down but the Bits had their shields to protect them. Ryo then pulled out the longer sword handle and ignited it, forming an ambidextrous hyper beam sword.

"We simply must stop meeting like this…" Rau sneered as he blocked a slash from the Double X, "People might get suspicious…"

"Shut up!" Ryo shouted, "You've taken things way too far! This has to stop!"

"Stop?" Rau laughed as the DRAGOONs turned their attention on the two ships, "You poor boy…this is only the beginning!"

"Leave them out of this!" Ryo frowned and performed a whirling slash with the ambidextrous sword, only to be blocked by the Providence's beam saber. Ryo struggled to push the Providence back but his eyes widened when he realized that Rau was aiming straight at his cockpit.

"You have much to learn, boy," Rau smirked, "I suppose I could make this quick for you as well…just like Flay…" Just then, Rau felt a tugging in his skull and he quickly moved to dodge two beams of energy as the Freedom came charging in, with an angry Kira at the controls.

"Get back, Ryo!" Kira shouted, still in SEED mode, "This one's mine!" Ryo was about to argue when he felt a strong sense of determination coming from the brunette and he closed his mouth. He knew Kira would win this one.

"Alright," Ryo nodded, "Give him one for me!" With that, he quickly flew after the others, leaving Kira to exchange fire with the Providence alone.

"You…" Kira growled as he maneuvered through the DRAGOON fire and managed to shoot down two with the Freedom's beam rifle, "It's all your fault!"

"Shout all you want, fool!" Rau said as he shot at the Freedom with the Providence's beam rifle and the weapons in its shield even as the white Mobile Suit destroyed another DRAGOON, "It won't change anything!"

-----------------------------

"GENESIS has finished alignment. Target is Washington, Earth Forces Atlantic Federation headquarters!"

-----------------------------

"Stop it! Lay down your weapons!" Athrun shouted as he disabled a pair of CGUEs with the Justice's Fortis beam cannons, "Is this what you people really want?! You'll wipe them out completely!"

"They're the ones who fired first!"

"My little brother was on Boaz!"

"It's no use, Athrun," Ryo sighed, "They're too full of rage to listen to anyone else at this point."

"Dammit…" Athrun muttered as they flew into an open port. Meanwhile, the fight between the Freedom and Providence had moved on to a saber duel, both machines having drawn their beam sabers.

"It's destined!" Rau said as they clashed, "We were meant to travel along the new road even though we had no idea what was at the end!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kira frowned as he increased the thruster output.

"Justice and faith, ignorance and escapism, the refusal to understand or to listen!" Rau told him, "That is what will bring about the end! And there's nothing that can be done to stop it!" The two suddenly drew away from one another as he added, "When all of this is over, humanity will cease to exist!"

"I won't let that happen!" Kira shouted as he dodged another barrage from the DRAGOONs, "I won't let you destroy everything!"

-----------------------------

"4th Mobile Suit squad, prepare to launch immediately!"

"Hey, hang in there, Miyaki!" a technician said as he dragged another who was injured through the port with the help of his friend. Just then, the Justice, Strike Rouge, Double X, and G-Falcon streaked past them along with the three Astray units, almost bowling them over with the wind generated from their thrusters.

"What's the delay here?! Hurry up!" Patrick shouted, "Everything will be over when we fire!"

"Sir, with all due respect, we've already won the war," Commander Yuki said to him as the other officers exchanged uneasy glances, "If we fire, we'll wipe out half of the existing life on Earth. I really don't think any more unnecessary sacrifices are needed." Patrick was still for a moment before he suddenly turned and raised a gun at him before firing once. Yuki's eyes widened in shock as the impact pushed him back while everyone down below looked on in shock.

"Sir, what…?" another officer asked as Patrick turned back around, ignoring the body drifting behind him.

-----------------------------

"Where's the Freedom?" Murrue asked as the Archangel moved towards GENESIS with most of the Joule team escorting them there, having arrived earlier to allow Yzak to get the heavily damaged Buster inside the Archangel's hangar.

"I don't know," Miriallia replied in a worried tone, "I can't contact the Eternal or the Kusanagi either."

"Kira…" Sai muttered, "Come on…"

-----------------------------

"You're stretching the truth way out of proportion!" Kira said as he destroyed another DRAGOON.

"Why not?" Rau smirked, "Isn't that the way humans are, Kira?"

"You're wrong!" Kira shouted, destroying a few more with the Freedom's plasma cannons and railguns, "People aren't like that at all!"

"What's so wrong about it?! Why is it wrong?!" Rau asked, managing to shoot off the Freedom's right leg below the knee, "We have eyes and hearts that can only hate and fingers that exist only to pull triggers!" As the Freedom flew around to avoid his shots he added, "What do we believe in? Why do we believe in it?!"

"You don't understand anything at all!" Kira growled even as a shot wrenched the Freedom's shield out of its hand and he drew a Lacerta beam saber before charging at the Providence.

"Of course not!" Rau laughed as he blocked a slash, "After all, people can only understand what they've experienced!" As Kira flew back, he suddenly remembered the things he had heard from others and even things that he himself had said.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"_You two…you're both Coordinators, aren't you?"_

_-----------------------------_

"_Why are you with the Earth Forces?! Why are you fighting for the Naturals?!"_

-----------------------------

"_But why are you in ZAFT? Why are you even fighting? Years ago, before we went our separate ways, you once told me that you hated war! Why did you attack Heliopolis?"_

-----------------------------

"_But you're both traitors to your own kind for siding with us!"_

-----------------------------

"_It's because you're both Coordinator's yourselves, isn't it?!"_

-----------------------------

"_I wonder if it's from having her genes modified?"_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Why torment yourself saying, 'Eventually, someday'?" Rau asked as the Freedom continued to dodge his DRAGOONs, "How long have you been fighting with your thoughts clouded by that brand of sweet poison?"

-----------------------------

By now, Athrun and the others had landed inside the Jachin Due and were making their way through its corridors towards the command center. All of them had their tactical vests and life-support packs on and had their assault rifles ready as they went through a door, only to be greeted by a hail of bullets from the guards. "Dammit, I knew this wouldn't be easy," Ryo grunted as they dove behind the doorframe for cover, "Anyone hurt?"

"I don't think so," Asagi replied, "But this is gonna slow us down big time if this keeps happening."

"We'll have to deal with it. This is the quickest way to the command center that I know of," Athrun said before pulling a grenade out of his vest and removing the pin with his thumb, "Grenade out!" He leaned out slightly and tossed the grenade towards the guards and then ducked back as it went off, quickly clearing the hallway before they began moving again. All of a sudden, more guards appeared and by this point, they were too far away from the door to duck behind it. Because there was too little room to use grenades, they had to switch to their assault rifles to dispatch the guards, although they tried not to kill them as often as possible. This happened several more times along the way and by the time they were in the last corridor, the number of guards sent to stop them had nearly tripled.

"There's no way we can fight through all that like this," Ryo frowned and looked around to see what they could use. After a while, he said, "Mayura, think you can shoot out the lights on our side of the hallway?"

"You betcha'!" the red-head nodded and took aim before firing several bursts around the room, shattering the lights to darken their area.

"Juri, anything that could possibly cause a chain explosion in here?" The bespectacled woman squinted and looked around before spotting something running along the wall.

"There are some pipes over there," she said, "Some of them might be for gas and whatnot."

"Perfect," Ryo nodded and then turned to Asagi, "Hey, Asagi. How good is your throwing arm?"

"Threw a ninety mile-per-hour fastball in college once," Asagi replied proudly.

"Nice," Ryo said, "Think you can throw a grenade that fast?"

"In zero-G?" she smirked, pulling out a grenade and tossing it up and down, "Just give me the word."

"Alright then," Ryo smiled and then looked to make sure that the guards were still reloading, "Now!" At his words, Asagi pulled the pin and stood, pulling her arm back before hurling the grenade directly towards the pipes. "Time to go!" Ryo said and quickly hurried back through the door they had entered from and when the last person was out, shut it before a muffled boom was heard from the other side.

"Explosion in the twelfth hallway! Sealing off now!"

"They're right there…our enemies are still out there! Why would you even suggest we not fire it?!" Patrick shouted as he watched the screens, "We must fire it again before they have a chance to retaliate! The enemy must be annihilated! Why can't you all understand that?!" All of a sudden, he got up out of his chair and walked over to the controls, "Out of my way! If you won't do it, then I'll do it myself!"

"Your Excellency!" one of the commanders exclaimed as Patrick began typing, "Our forces are still in the line of fire!"

"All of our soldiers are fighting for one thing and that's victory!" Patrick snapped, now completely lost in his vengeance, "They're prepared to make this sacrifice!"

"But sir!" the Commander said even as Commander Yuki's body twitched and slowly began to move. With quite a bit of effort, he managed to reach into his uniform jacket pull out a handgun similar to the one that Patrick had shot him with.

"You…" he managed to hiss, "You…bastard…" Hearing this, Patrick turned to look just as he fired three times, each bullet hitting him square in the chest. As everyone else stood by, dumbfounded by what had just happened, the door opened and Athrun peeked in to see if it was clear but jumped out in shock when he saw his father drifting around, blood floating from his wounds. Gradually, chatter began to spread around the command center until finally, it erupted into all out confusion and panic.

"He shot the Chairman!"

"Is it a coup?"

"W-What do we do now…?"

"Run!" one of them shouted and in that instant, almost everyone in the room got out of their seats and headed for the exit, completely ignoring the fact that Athrun had walked in with the others behind him.

"Oh man…" Ryo muttered, "This is…Athrun, I…" Athrun said nothing but floated up to his father and Cagalli followed him. Ryo paused for a moment before joining them and together, they brought Patrick back to the floor using their life support packs.

"Father?" Athrun said, gently shaking him, "Father…" Patrick grimaced before looking to see his son kneeling by him.

"Athrun…"

"You'll be okay," Athrun told him, "We'll get you to our ships and-"

"No…" Patrick said, putting his hand on Athrun's shoulder, "Don't bother…" As the others looked on, he added, "Athrun…you must finish…"

"Father?"

"Destroy…GENESIS…" he said, "There's…no point….anymore…" Athrun's eyes widened when he realized what his father was saying.

"Father…" Athrun muttered, "You…"

"I was…angry, Athrun…" Patrick told him, "I thought…that if all the Naturals were destroyed…I could make…peace with myself again…" Pausing, he smiled a bit and in the little light there was in the room, Athrun saw just how old and tired the war had made his father. "Go on, son…" Patrick said, "The future…you must…make it…your own…" Suddenly, he coughed and a glob of blood emerged from his lips as his body loosened.

"Father!" Athrun called out and as Patrick lifted his head to get one last look at his son, he thought he saw a woman with blue hair standing behind Athrun.

"Patrick…" she said and knelt down next to him, stroking his head, "It's time to go now…" Patrick couldn't help but smile a bit as he looked at his son on one side and his beloved wife on the other.

"Athrun…" he thought as he closed his eyes, "Lenore…"

"Father…?" Athrun gasped when Patrick went limp and his hand slid from his shoulder, "FATHER!!" He was still for a few seconds before he bowed his head and let a few tears escape from his eyes as the others watched.

"Athrun…" Cagalli muttered and put her hand on his arm, "I'm so sorry…"

"No…I'm glad for him, actually," Athrun said and as the others looked at him with surprise, added, "Now, he'll finally be at peace. And he'll be with my mother again…" The others blinked but when they looked, they saw the small smile on Patrick's face and realized the Athrun was probably right.

-----------------------------

"We've been ordered to retreat?"

"Captain! What are our orders?!" The ZAFT fleet was now in confusion as well as reports came in from everywhere, each saying a different thing. Meanwhile, the Archangel had joined the Eternal and Kusanagi near GENESIS and the Yzak was back out in the Duel to join his team, which now carried a spare beam rifle and shield that was supposed to be for the Strike. As for Dearka, he had gotten a bandage wound around his head to stop the bleeding and was now standing in the Archangel's bridge next to Miriallia as they pulled up next to the Kusanagi.

"Archangel!" Waltfield said, "Glad you could make it."

"Any word from Kira and the others?" Murrue asked as she appeared on the main view screen.

"No," Lacus replied, "Kira is fighting Rau le Creuset and everyone else has gone to Jachin Due to stop GENESIS."

-----------------------------

As Athrun and the others prepared to leave, a sudden beeping sound caught their attention and they turned to see that the monitors had changed to a sort of count-down. "The hell?" Ryo frowned, "What's going on?"

"All personnel, please evacuate the base," an automated voice said over the loudspeakers, "All personnel, please evacuate the base."

"Athrun?" Cagalli asked as the bluenette approached one of the monitors, "What's happening?"

"Hold on," Athrun said as he quickly typed in a few commands, "This is…Jachin Due's self-destruct sequence! It's tied to GENESIS's shot!"

"What?!" Ryo exclaimed and quickly started typing on a keyboard, "You gotta be kidding me!" Athrun and Ryo typed as quickly as they could to try and stop it but it soon became apparent that they weren't getting anywhere.

"Dammit!" Athrun swore, pounding on the keys, "Who could've done this?" Ryo frowned a bit before looking up and narrowing his eyes.

"Creuset…he must've done it…" he hissed, "Why doesn't he just realize that even if this happens, nothing's gonna change?!"

"We can't worry about that now," Tiffa said, "We need to get out of here before it's too late. There might still be a way."

"Guess you're right," Ryo nodded and as they headed for the door, added beneath his breath, "Guess it was nice of him to set the timer to half-an hour …"

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, at one of the smaller bases where Ezalia Joule was stationed, everyone else was confused as well as to what was going on when the self-destruct message from Jachin Due appeared on the monitors. All of a sudden, the confusion doubled when the door hissed open and a squad of soldiers stormed in, aiming their assault rifles at them. As the officers raised their hands, Ezalia was shocked to see none other than Eileen Canaver walking up to them.

-----------------------------

Outside, Kira had just destroyed another DRAGOON with the Freedom's Xiphias railguns when Rau suddenly started to laugh. "No matter what happens now, I've won!" Rau declared, "The moment Jachin Due self-destructs, GENESIS will fire!" Kira's eyes widened and he looked to see that explosions were flaring up all over the asteroid base as ZAFT Mobile Suits flew by, holding onto life-lines packed full with soldiers holding on for dear life. "Fight all you wish, there's no long any way to stop it!" Rau laughed as the two clashed beam sabers, "The Earth will burn! And the cries of the victims will ignite battle anew!"

"This…" Kira gaped, "This…can't be!"

-----------------------------

Back at Jachin Due, Athrun and the others had made it back to their machines and were flying out of the port that they had come in from.

"What now?" Cagalli asked, "We can't just shoot down the GENESIS and there's no way to stop it remotely."

"I'm gonna get inside GENESIS," Athrun said, "And then…I'll ignite a nuclear explosion from within Justice to destroy the core."

"What?!" Cagalli exclaimed, "Athrun!"

"Now hold on a moment, Athrun, let's think this through," Ryo frowned, "If it comes down to that, then do it. But I'll see if the Double X can't do a number on this thing first." Veering off, he added, "Get the Justice in position. Make sure you set it to go off if there's no other way!"

"I'm going with you!" Tiffa said and headed after the Double X.

"No. You head back to the Eternal," Ryo replied, "It'll be safer there."

"I'm not letting you do this alone!" Tiffa told him, "Ryo, please!" Ryo paused before heaving a sigh.

"Alright," he muttered, "If that's what you want." Tiffa nodded and attached the G-Falcon to the Double X as an armor booster before the two sped off towards the front of GENESIS.

-----------------------------

"Athrun!" Kira called out when he saw the Justice and Strike Rouge fly past him, "Cagalli!" He was forced to move again when the DRAGOONs shot at him and the Providence moved in to attack.

"It's over, Kira!" Rau said, "This will be a day of reckoning for everyone!" His shots destroyed the Freedom's right shoulder armor and left Xiphias gun but a well-placed shot from Kira sliced off the Providence's left arm. Off to the side, Athrun had used every long-range weapon the Justice had to blow apart one of the hatches that lead into GENESIS and flew in, the Strike Rouge not far behind.

"Athrun, don't!" Cagalli shouted, "If you do this, then…!"

"There's no other way!" Athrun replied, "Go back, Cagalli!"

"Athrun!"

"Don't follow me!" Athrun snapped and released the Fatum-00, letting it drift behind him to block the Strike Rouge's path.

"Athrun!!" Cagalli called out as the Justice grew smaller and smaller on her screen.

"Aren't you one of them as well?!" Rau asked as he shot off the Freedom's right arm, "You're human too, aren't you?!"

"So what?!" Kira growled, combining the two Lacerta sabers into an ambidextrous saber similar to the way Athrun did with the Justice's. As the explosions within the Jachin Due became more frequent, the Justice emerged within an enormous chamber inside GENESIS, where a large structure stood in front of it.

"This must be the core…" Athrun muttered before pressing a button on the armrest to extend it and reveal a number pad.

"ATHRUN!!" a voice called out over his radio as he typed in the sequence and he turned to see the Strike Rouge approaching him.

"C-Cagalli?" Athrun blinked, "I told you to-"

"Shut up! And stop trying to run away from your problems, Athrun!" Cagalli said as tears welled up in her eyes, "The hardest battle is to keep living!" As Athrun thought over her words, Ryo had flown the Double X right in front of GENESIS, having summoned the remaining twelve GX-Bits to him. By now, Tiffa had left the G-Falcon's cockpit and entered his own, standing next to and slightly behind the seat as Ryo got the final preparations done.

"Are you sure you want to be here, Tiffa?" he asked as he turned to look at her, "We might not make it through this."

"It's alright," Tiffa nodded, "I'm prepared for whatever may happen." Ryo looked at her for a moment before returning the nod and facing forward.

"Alright," Ryo said as he flipped the cover on the control stick up, "Let's do this…" He hit the switch and the Double X's wings began to unfold and the armor on the arms and legs shifted to reveal the energy collectors beneath them. Even as the Twin Satellite Cannons folded into place, the GX-Bits began to undergo the same transformation that the original X Gundam had went through went it was about to use its Satellite Cannon. Moments later, a thin beam of light streaked towards them from the moon and struck the green energy collector on the Double X's chest, causing it to light up as its other energy collectors on its arms, legs, and wings began to glow as well. "Commencing energy transfer," Ryo added and hit another switch before beams of light shot out from the Double X's wings and connected with those of the Bits before they connected to other Bits as well and soon, all of the machines were connected by a web of light.

"Captain, there's a massive energy surge coming from in front of GENESIS!" Dacosta said on the Eternal, "It's the Double X!" When they heard this, everyone turned to see a bright light shining in front of the super-weapon.

"Ryo…" Murrue muttered, "Is he…is he trying to stop GENESIS on his own?"

"Here's to hoping," Ryo nodded and pulled the trigger, causing waves of energy to shoot from the Satellite Cannons. The beams headed towards GENESIS and struck it at several points, a few managing to hit the mirror block. A cheer went up amongst the crews as several explosions flared up where the beams had hit, knowing that some progress was finally being made.

"It's working!" Tiffa exclaimed, "We're damaging it!"

"Yeah, but it's not enough," Ryo frowned, "Let's try again…" He pulled the trigger and the Satellite Cannons fired again, bombarding GENESIS with destructive energy and further damaging it. "Dammit!" Ryo swore when he saw that it was still in working condition, "This Microwave Laser isn't giving enough power! I still need more!" He thought for a moment and then added, "Ah hell, who am I kidding? That thing was designed to harness energy from nuclear explosions. How am I gonna get enough power to…" He trailed off as a sudden spark of inspiration struck him and he began inputting new commands.

"Ryo?" Tiffa asked, "What are you doing?"

"The Double X can transfer energy from the Twin Satellite Cannons into other systems," he replied, "If it can go one way, I don't see why it can't go the other way too."

"What do you mean?"

"If I can connect the Twin Satellite Cannons to the Double X's nuclear reactor, I might be able to draw energy straight from the reactor and feed it to the weapons and even transfer it to the Bits," Ryo explained, "Of course…it might also overload the reactor and just cause it to explode. But at this point, that's a risk I'm willing to take." As Ryo prepared to put his dangerous theory to the test, Kira charged at the Providence, ambidextrous saber poised to strike.

"I won't let you succeed, Creuset!" Kira shouted as the Freedom flew at its target, its wings seeming to emit a golden light, "This world is still worth protecting!" Rau cringed and desperately fired the Providence's beam rifle to drive Kira back but the brunette easily dodged the shots and sliced off the Providence's right arm. Rau drew back and attacked with the last two DRAGOONs but Kira ignored them even as they destroyed the Freedom's head and hit its torso dangerously close to its cockpit. With a final cry, he thrust forward and pierced the Providence's torso, narrowly missing Rau in the cockpit as the blade went all the way through.

"Heh…" Rau mused as his visor shattered and his mask was pulled of his face by the vacuum, "What folly…" At that moment, the timer inside Jachin Due finally reached zero and a massive explosion burst out from the openings in the surface as the interior was destroyed. Just then, Kira noticed a bright light coming from his right and he looked to see that when he stabbed the Providence, he had somehow managed to end up between GENESIS and the mirror block and quickly flew off as a beam shot out and struck the Providence. The resulting nuclear explosion swallowed the Freedom and gradually ate away at its Phase Shift armor and melted its wings as Kira struggled to escape.

"No!" Murrue gasped, "GENESIS is…!" Everyone watched in horror as the mirror block began to glow, signifying the GENESIS was charging up for its final shot.

"No. You. Don't!!" Ryo shouted and pressed the trigger, unleashing a wall of nuclear-charged energy. The blast was bigger than any Ryo had ever seen but even as he fired, the Phase Shift armor on the Double X began to melt away as the extreme heat ate away at it. The energy had already overloaded in three Bits and they exploded, releasing even more energy. At that moment, GENESIS fire but the damage it had sustained earlier had made it unstable and the mirror block crumbled under the pressure as the gamma ray blast streaked towards the Double X. "This is gonna get ugly!" Ryo grunted moments before the blasts collided, resulting in a huge nuclear explosion that spread along the beams, swallowing the Double X and its Bits and knocking GENESIS out of position. Inside, the timer inside the Justice also reached zero and it too went up in a nuclear fireball, breaching the core and causing GENESIS itself to explode in a blinding light.

"Kira!" Lacus exclaimed and got out of her seat to go over by the wind-shield as everyone else watched the explosion. By the time the light had faded, GENESIS was gone and the last few explosions were dying down on Jachin Due's surface.

"Cagalli…" Kisaka muttered, "What…?"

"Attention to all Earth Forces and ZAFT vessels. This is Interim PLANT Supreme Council Chairwoman Eileen Canaver. I command both sides to cease fighting immediately," a voice suddenly crackled over the speakers, "At the moment, we are currently preparing to meet with the Earth Alliance to discuss ending the war." But even as she said this, only one thought hung on their minds as ZAFT and Earth Forces ships alike began to withdraw.

What had happened to their brave pilots?

Off in the distance, the Strike Rouge drifted amongst the wreckage of GENESIS, mostly intact save some damage to the Aile Striker pack, its missing weapons, and the fact that its Phase Shift armor was completely drained. For a moment, there was no movement, until the cockpit hatch opened and Athrun stepped out. From behind him, Cagalli also came out to stand on the cockpit hatch and the two surveyed the damage for a while before turning to look at each other. Then, Cagalli let a few tears of relief flow as she pulled Athrun into a hug, which he gladly returned as he shed his own tears. Back at the Archangel, a small shape suddenly flew out from a hole in its hull, which soon turned out to be Birdee as it flew out. The crew of the Archangel watched it go when Sai suddenly spotted a familiar looking shape in the distance.

"Kira…?" he muttered standing up as the others looked as well.

"Kira…" Murrue blinked, "Is it…"

"Kira!" Athrun exclaimed when he saw Birdee.

"Where?" Cagalli asked, looking around frantically, "I don't see him!"

"Just follow that bird!" Athrun replied, pushing her back into the Strike Rouge, "Come on, hurry!" As the Strike Rouge's hatch closed, Birdee made its way through space to another heavily damaged Mobile Suit. It was the remains of the Freedom, damaged completely beyond use and drifting about helplessly in space. Birdee, however, was more interested in the small shape floating in front of the Freedom's open cockpit: its master, Kira. The brunette had managed to get out the Mobile Suit but was now utterly spent and didn't have the strength to even more his head to look around.

"Where are we…?" Kira muttered as tears slowly leaked from his eyes, some splashing against Lacus' ring as it floated around inside his helmet, "What's going to happen to us? Now that we've come to this time and space…?" He was about to close his eyes to rest them when he noticed a glint of light steadily approaching him. Moments later, he saw Birdee fly up to him and perch on his shoulder like it always had and he smiled. "Hey…Birdee…" he said and Birdee chirped before taking off and circling him a bit. Just then, Kira looked to see that the glint of light had become the Strike Rouge and his eyes widened as hope began to fill his self. Squinting, his eyes filled with joyful tears when he saw the smiling forms of Athrun and Cagalli inside the Strike Rouge's cockpit, both of them shedding equally happy tears.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"What happened…?" Ryo thought as he forced his eyes open only to see a white void, "Is this…the end of the world…?" He slowly looked around, not seeing anything besides the white that he was floating in. "Am I…" he muttered, "Dead…?"

"Nope!" a cheerful voice rang out, "And good thing too!" Startled, he righted himself and turned to see a pair of familiar faces.

"Tolle?!" Ryo gaped, "And Nicol?!"

"Hey, Ryo," Nicol smiled, "Nice to see you remember us."

"But you…I…" Ryo blinked, completely confused, "I _must_ be dead! Otherwise…"

"No, you're not dead," Nicol assured him, "You're just unconscious."

"Then…I'm dreaming?" Ryo frowned, "This is awfully realistic for a dream."

"Not quite," Tolle smiled and gestured around him, "Welcome to Purgatory, Ryo!"

"Wait a sec', I'm in _Purgatory_?!" Ryo exclaimed, "I thought only dead people go here!"

"So did we," Tolle shrugged, "But apparently, unconscious guys can end up here too every now and then. You're the second one this decade."

"I see…" Ryo nodded slowly, "So…you're dead, huh?"

"Yeah," Nicol nodded sadly, "I kind of miss my family and friends. But it's not too bad in the afterlife."

"He's right," Tolle added, "When you're dead, you've got all the time in the world to do whatever you want."

"I'll take your word for it," Ryo smiled and then turned to Nicol, "Hey, no hard feelings about…you know, the mercy-killing thing?"

"Ah, don't worry about it," Nicol chuckled, "It was for the best. Besides, I've had plenty of time to get over it." Ryo nodded but suddenly noticed that his two friends were beginning to fade and float away from him.

"Hey, what…?"

"Oh, looks like you're starting to wake up," Tolle said, "Well, best of luck to yah', pal. Have fun being alive."

"Take care," Nicol added and just before everything faded to black, shouted, "Say hi to everyone for us!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Ryo?" Tiffa whispered, gently shaking her friend, "Ryo!" Said pilot grunted as he stirred and opened his eyes before gazing around to find himself on his back, his head lying on Tiffa's lap.

"Ugh…what the hell happened?" Ryo muttered, "And where are we?"

"We're still in space," Tiffa replied, "When the explosion hit us, the G-Falcon acted like a blast shield and absorbed most of the impact before the cockpit was breached. We're lucky I brought this." Tiffa held something up and Ryo smiled when he saw that it was the music box, open and glowing before he noticed that they were floating inside a translucent bubble.

"Well whaddya know? The old thing pulled through," Ryo chuckled before asking, "Is it over? The war I mean…"

"Yes," Tiffa nodded, "GENESIS is gone, ZAFT and the Earth Forces as pulling back, and Earth is safe. We did it…"

"Yeah…guess we did…" Ryo smiled and gazed at the Earth through the bubble. Just then, he spotted a lone GX-Bit, its arms and left leg missing, moving over towards them as its program instructed to. "Heh…guess we won't have to wait for someone to find us after all," he said and then saw the remains of the Freedom and the Strike Rouge near it, "Looks like the others made it too…that's good…" Tiffa nodded and the two were silent before she looked back down at him.

"Ryo?"

"Hm?"

"What happens now?" she asked, "Now that the fighting is over."

"Easy. We'll grab our friends…get back to the Eternal…" Ryo smiled as the Bit opened its cockpit to let them in, "And then…we'll all go home…"

"Home?"

"To Earth…where humanity first began," Ryo told her, "No matter how much time passes…that'll always be home in my eyes…"

-----------------------------

At this point, the Strike Rouge had reached the Freedom and Athrun and Cagalli had climbed out before floating over to Kira, who could barely muster the strength to reach out and take hold of them as they pulled him close. "You idiot!" Cagalli sobbed as she hugged him, "I thought…we all thought…" Kira just smiled and patted Cagalli's shoulder the best he could.

"So did I…" Kira muttered as she pulled back and let Athrun into their circle. Just then, they spotted a GX-Bit approaching them and Kira could make out Tiffa's figure waving to them and he immediately knew that Ryo was inside as well. As Cagalli and Athrun waved back, he looked around and saw the three ships heading for their position and he smiled, knowing that they would all be together again soon.

"I guess it's over now," Athrun said, "We can finally rest."

"Yeah…" Kira nodded and as Birdee took off from his shoulder and flew back to the Archangel, he smiled as he thought to himself, "It's…our world…"

Final Phase- End

To the reviewers:

Ominae- Yes, it is.

Weasel Debator- Thank you. And I did as well.

Infinite Freedom- Yes, she will. And I guess there's pretty much only one left at this point, isn't there?

Author's note- Well, everyone, this is it. After two long years of delays, random bursts of inspiration, and outright laziness on my behalf, this story is finally finished. It's a great feeling to finally be able to switch the status to "Complete" after such a long time. I'd like to extend my deepest thanks to all of the viewers who have taken the time to read and (occasionally) review my story and look forward to the years to come. So thanks for reading and be on the look-out for my next stories some time in 2008. Until then, my name is Hariel Lhikan. And I declare this story finished.

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Cosmic Revolution by Hariel Lhikan- Fin_


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